Lucknow: A probe by the Government
Railway Police has found loopholes in the version given by
athlete Arunima Sinha that she lost her leg after being thrown
out of a train by robbers in Bareilly.
Dismissing the investigations, the 23-year-old
national level football and volleyball player said she was
being "mentally harassed" by the police.
ADG, Railways AK Jain said, "The investigations point
out that Arunima was disturbed and she either attempted
suicide or met with an accident. We will unravel it in the
next few days."
"The loot attempt as alleged by her was not
corroborated in the investigation by any of the witnesses on
or off the record", the ADG said.
During investigation, it was found that no physical
test for ITBP was scheduled for April 11 in Noida, where
Arunima said she was heading.
Also, she was found at a spot, which was 16 feet away
from the up track on which Padmavat Express passed and she was
lying on the far side of the adjacent down track, the
investigators said, adding that it was impossible to land so
far, if pushed out of the train.
Arunima`s version that the speed of the train was very
fast was also found to be "untrue" as after halting for 12
minutes at Chanaiti Railway Station in Bareilly, Padmavat
Express moved 250 metres (the spot, where she was found),
where the speed cannot be more than eight km/hour, according
to the investigators.
The investigators feel that Arunima had crossed the
railway line.
Claiming that her visit to Delhi was unplanned, the
investigators said that Arunima was in touch with her
brother-in-law Om Prakash Tripathi till 2.30 am while she was
at Charbagh Station in Lucknow on April 10.
According to her mobile records, before coming to the
station she made a call to her friend Sanjay in New Delhi from
Kursi road.
Sanjay had told police that Arunima was disturbed and
suddenly made a plan to visit Delhi.
Arunima had claimed that she had lost her leg after
she was pushed out of the Padmavat Express in Bareilly on
April 11 by three men trying to snatch her gold chain when she
was travelling to Delhi to appear for an examination.
When asked about the police view, Arunima said over
phone from New Delhi that she was being "mentally harassed".
"I don`t know whether the police is with me or against
me. I was going to CISF, Noida office to enquire about the
Centre for physical exam scheduled on May 7 and to ensure a
correction in my date of birth in the call letter I have
received," Arunima said.
"Some persons tried to snatch my chain and one of them
hit me on abdomen...and I fell", Arunima said.
When asked how she landed 16 feet away from track,
the athlete said, "I was not so far..But I don`t remember
whether my foot came under Padmavat Express on any other
train."
She also stated that she was not going to appear in
the ITBP exam.
Besides losing her leg, Arunima also sustained
injuries on her spine and pelvic.
The police had lodged an FIR under Section 307
(attempt to murder) and 393 (attempt to loot) against
unidentified youths in this connection.
PTI
