New Delhi: A Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) has been booked for allegedly pushing the wife of a Navy officer to her death from a Patna–Anand Vihar special train near Etawah in Uttar Pradesh, officials said on Friday.

The Government Railway Police (GRP) in Etawah registered an FIR on Thursday after the family of the woman alleged that the TTE pushed her out of a moving train. Officials said several co-passengers have instead claimed in written statements that the woman jumped on her own after being asked to shift to the general compartment because she had a ticket for another train.

What exactly happened on the train?

The victim, Arti Yadav, boarded the sleeper coach of the Patna–Anand Vihar special train at around 7:30 am from Kanpur on Tuesday. According to officials, at around 9:30 am, TTE Santosh Kumar entered the coach and asked her to show her ticket.

Passenger Anchal Srivastava, who was in berth number 4 where Arti had sat, said in a written statement:

"The lady said she had a ticket for another train. The TTE told her to go to the general coach. Then the lady said she would get down at the next station."

Srivastava further wrote, "When the TTE again asked her to shift to the general coach, she said she would jump out of the train. After saying this, she took her bag and jumped out of the train near Bharthna station."

What did other passengers witness?

Another passenger, Raj Vaibhav Singh, reiterated Srivastava's account and added that Arti threw her Aadhaar card towards the TTE before taking her bag and jumping out, noting that the coach door was close to her berth.

"I was on berth no 20, but when I heard the TTE and the woman talking to each other, I went to the berth to find out what went wrong," he told.

Three other passengers in adjoining berths gave similar written statements supporting this version.

What is the family alleging?

Arti’s husband, Ajay Singh, who serves in the Indian Navy, said she was pushed out of the speeding train after an argument.

"The TTE pushed her out of the moving train. Her bag was recovered 4 km away from the body. Her mobile phone is missing. Her back was severely injured, while the front side had no injury marks. This shows foul play," he alleged.

Singh also questioned the co-passengers’ statements after being told they claimed Arti jumped,

"I came to know that one of the co-passengers, Raj Vaibhav Singh, had called 139 and complained about the TTE's misbehaviour with my wife. But now, very strangely, he has changed his statement."

"Kanpur (where she boarded) and Bharthna (where her body was found) are about 130 km apart. If she intended to commit suicide, why would she wait so long? She could have done it soon after the train started speeding," he further argued.

He said she had recently travelled alone from Mumbai to Kanpur without any problems and denied that she had any mental distress.

"I request the GRP to thoroughly investigate the matter," he added.

What does the TTE say happened?

In his statement, TTE Santosh Kumar said Arti initially claimed she had an AC class ticket for another train (No. 02563) and tried to show it on her phone, but he could only see the train number.

He said he only asked her to move to the general coach, after which she reacted by throwing her Aadhaar card at him, picking up her bag, and jumping out of the train.

PTI inputs