'Please don't...': Kerala policeman saves young man from attempting suicide on railway tracks

Haripad (Kerala): A Kerala policeman saved a young man from attempting suicide by stopping him just as he was walking towards an oncoming train near Haripad on Wednesday. Civil Police Officer A Nishad, who was off duty at the time, found the youth and shouted, "Please don't jump!" before rushing across the tracks. The Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express was fast approaching from the opposite direction. 

The young man, startled by the unexpected voice, turned around and saw Nishad—a familiar face. Nishad quickly pulled him away from the tracks, holding him until the train passed. 

The incident occurred at 8 am near Haripad. The police had tracked the location of the 26-year-old, who had gone missing from home that morning, and found that he was near the railway line. Nishad was immediately called in to help, despite not being on duty.

Upon reaching the spot, Nishad, with assistance from the gatekeeper, spotted the young man walking along the middle of the tracks. At that moment, the sound of the approaching Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi Express grew louder. Nishad sprinted towards him, repeatedly shouting for him not to jump. Moments before the train arrived, the young man stepped off the tracks. Meanwhile, Nishad's tracksuit got caught on a hook near the railway line, and he barely managed to escape.

Police said family problems had pushed the young man towards this desperate act. Nishad had previously spoken to him at the station regarding similar concerns, leading to their acquaintance.

During the rescue, Nishad had kept his mobile phone camera on in his pocket. He later explained that he did so out of fear that if anything went wrong, his intervention could be misinterpreted.

This was not Nishad's first rescue. Six months ago, he and SI Shaija from Haripad station had saved a young woman who attempted to jump in front of a train. That rescue, too, was made possible by tracking the individual's phone location.