Varkala/Thiruvananthapuram: A 19-year-old girl from Palode, Thiruvananthapuram, was critically injured after being pushed out of a moving train near Varkala on Sunday night. The accused, identified as Suresh Kumar, a man in his forties from Vellarada in Thiruvananthapuram, has been taken into custody.

The incident occurred around 8.15 pm when the Kerala Express was nearing Ayanthi, about 1.5 km from Varkala railway station. "Suresh suddenly pushed the girl out of the general compartment without any provocation. He also tried to push her friend, but she fell back inside the coach and escaped serious injury," Varkala MLA V Joy told Onmanorama.

Joy added that co-passengers immediately alerted the Varkala police, who rushed to the spot and found the girl lying near the tracks close to the Ayanthi bridge. “A MEMU train bound for Thiruvananthapuram was approaching at the time. The officials quickly alerted the train crew, stopped the train, and rescued the injured girl. She was brought to Varkala railway station and shifted to Sree Narayana Mission Hospital in an ambulance arranged at the station,” he said.

Varkala Police said the girl was unconscious but had a pulse when rescued. She suffered heavy bleeding and severe internal injuries. "Hospital authorities later confirmed that her condition was critical, following which she was shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment," said Joy. Railway police accompanied her during the transfer.

"Preliminary information suggests that the accused was under the influence of alcohol. Co-passengers overpowered him and handed him over to the railway police when the train reached Varkala station,” Joy added. 

A team from the Thiruvananthapuram railway police, led by Sub Inspector Syam TD, began an investigation into the incident. 

The incident brought back chilling memories of the 2011 Soumya murder case, when a man named Govindachamy threw the 23-year-old woman off the moving train. She was found on the tracks in an unconscious state near Vallathol railway station, and she died five days later. The Supreme Court later commuted Govindachamy's death sentence and altered the murder charge to grievous assault.