'She is lying there with her eyes half closed and body cold'; 19-year-old woman's mother responds

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The mother of the 19-year-old woman, who was pushed off a running train in Varkala by a drunkard, has opened up about her daughter's health condition. The injured person is Sreekutty (19), a native of Palode in Thiruvananthapuram.

"My daughter is lying there with her eyes half open and her body cold. I'm a mother. If you see her, you will understand. I raised her with so much effort. My daughter would always stand up against wrongdoing. She must have questioned the man's behaviour. All I want now is good treatment for my child," the mother said.

Reports say Sreekutty is now out of danger, though she has suffered head and spinal injuries.

Meanwhile, the accused, Suresh Kumar, a native of Panachamoodu, has confessed to the crime. He boarded the Kerala Express from Kottayam, while Sreekutty and her friend boarded from Aluva. Suresh, a painter by profession, was reportedly drunk when he entered the train, though he did not drink on board. Passengers said he had been behaving inappropriately since the journey began.

Around 8:30 pm on Sunday, when the train had just started moving from the Varkala station, Sreekutty and her friend went to use the toilet in the general compartment. While her friend was inside, Sreekutty waited near the door. Suddenly, Suresh came from behind and kicked her in the back, throwing her off the moving train. When Sreekutty’s friend screamed, the attacker tried to grab and pull her out too, but she held on tightly to the metal bar near the door. Other passengers rushed to help, and Suresh fled the scene. The passengers then alerted the railway police. Police believe the man may have attacked Sreekutty because she refused to move away from the door. Suresh later told police that he pushed her because “she didn’t move aside.”

Passengers managed to capture Suresh and handed him over to the railway police when the train reached Kochuveli. Following the alert, police found Sreekutty unconscious in a bushy area near the Ayanti bridge. She was first taken to Varkala Sree Narayana Medical Mission Hospital, and later shifted to the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College for advanced treatment.