10 November,2025 07:20 AM IST | Mumbai | Madhulika Ram Kavattur
Hailey and her mother, Sheetal Momaya. Pic/By Special Arrangement
"No one has told me how my daughter died," said a grief-stricken Sheetal Momaya, the mother of 19-year-old Hailey, who died on the railway tracks near Sandhurst Road last Thursday. Four days after the accident, Sheetal said she is still waiting for answers from the authorities.
The incident occurred on November 6, when rail employees protested at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) against an FIR filed against two railway engineers in connection with the June train accident between Mumbra and Kalwa. The protest halted several trains to and from CSMT for hours.
One of the affected trains was carrying Hailey and her aunt, Khusbu Mohmaya. Family members said the train had stopped just after crossing Sandhurst Road station, when an announcement informed passengers that the train would not move further due to the protest.
As many passengers began walking along the tracks toward Byculla, Hailey and her aunt also decided to get down. "They left after most of the crowd had gone. It was just an unfortunate decision made at the wrong time," said a relative, requesting anonymity.
Hailey was later found dead near the tracks, reportedly hit by a train. Sheetal said that when she reached JJ Hospital, she was told her daughter had been brought dead. "They told me she was hit by a train, but no one has explained how it happened. Did she fall? Did anyone see it? I don't know anything," she said. "I am a mother who lost her daughter and has been left completely in the dark. I need answers."
She added that no police or railway official has contacted the family since the accident. "Only our local MLA, Amin Patel, came to meet us that night. No one else has told us anything," she said. "The police have recorded the statements from other victims, but nothing has been told me, or no one has even asked me about anything." The Central Railway has registered an Accidental Death Report (ADR) in the case.
