Man stabbed outside Mahim railway station after dispute over broken phone

A 35-year-old man was stabbed and seriously injured outside the Mahim railway station in Mumbai on Thursday night after a petty argument over an allegedly broken mobile phone. The victim, identified as Navin Prasanna, was assaulted at approximately 10:15 pm on the footpath just outside the busy station.

Prasanna, who resides on Pitamber Lane in Mahim west, had just returned by local train from his workplace in Lower Parel, where he works as an office boy for an advertising, entertainment, and technology company. As he stepped out of the Mahim station, he accidentally bumped into another pedestrian.

Following the accidental collision, the unidentified pedestrian claimed that his mobile phone had fallen to the ground and broken. The man then demanded that Prasanna pay him financial compensation for the damaged device. When Prasanna refused to pay, the pedestrian pulled out a knife and stabbed him several times.

The assailant fled the scene immediately after the stabbing. Local residents who witnessed the violent attack rushed Prasanna to Sion Hospital for emergency medical treatment. Prasanna sustained severe injuries to his abdomen and remained unconscious for 15 hours following the attack, according to his brother, Sachin.

The Mahim police have registered a case against the unidentified attacker under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The specific charges filed against the unknown person include attempt to murder, criminal intimidation, and intentional insult with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.

Police officers suspect that the assailant may have boarded a train to escape the area. An officer involved in the investigation stated that, prima facie, the suspect appears to be a drug addict. The Mahim police are currently looking for the accused, who remains at large.