Foreigner dies during police questioning after fire extinguisher brawl in train at Surat station; probe on

A foreign national reportedly died at a Railway Protection Force (RPF) post at Gujarat's Surat station after he was deboarded from a train following a quarrel with co-passengers, the government railway police (GRP) said.

Officials said that the GRP have started a custodial death investigation, and is working to ascertain what led to the foreign national's death, news agency PTI reported.

The unidentified man, likely in his 40s, was travelling to Delhi on the Golden Temple Express from Mumbai's Borivali, the GRP said.

What happened on the train?

Abhay Soni, Western Railway Superintendent of Police, Vadodara division, said that after the train left Gujarat's Vapi station on the night of August 17, the foreigner got into a verbal tiff and subsequently a physical fight with co-passengers over standing near the gate.

Meanwhile, another passenger on the train called the railway helpline at 139 and reported the brawl. "The foreign national also allegedly sprayed a fire extinguisher on co-passengers during the fight," SP Soni said.

RPF and GRP personnel intervened and deboarded the foreign national as soon as the train reached Surat. They then took him to the RPF post at the railway station platform.

ALSO READ | PAN, voter ID not citizenship proof: High court declares man a foreigner despite 15 documents

According to SP Soni, the man suddenly fell unconscious during the questioning and died.

The SP said the foreign national's identity and nationality were yet to be established, adding that he could be from Africa. However, authorities were not confirming his identity, as people with similar features could also be from other countries, news agency PTI reported, citing sources.

Soni said that no passport or identification documents were found on the man.

The man could be around 45-years-old, police said, adding that no one has come forward to identify him so far.

SP Soni said that a railway police team has also been sent to Mumbai for further investigation.

Foreign nationals in India

Recently, several cases of foreign nationals' deportation and involvement in crimes across India have surfaced. A Bangladeshi national was recently expelled from Assam under the Immigrants (Expulsion from Assam) Act, 1950, by the District Magistrate of South Salmara-Mankachar after he was convicted in a case related to illegal entry into India, an official reportedly said.

In Bihar, security agencies on Tuesday caught a Somali national from the Bhangaha border area in the East Champaran district along the India-Nepal border, news agency ANI reported.

ALSO READ | Supreme Court tightens bail for foreign nationals in commercial NDPS cases: Mandatory passport deposit, two sureties

The arrested foreign national, identified as Kafi Ali Hashi, was carrying a mobile phone, a microphone and ₹25,000 in Indian currency.

He was apprehended by the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) team deployed at Bhangaha. Authorities also found that the passport in his possession had expired.

Additionally, the Supreme Court on Monday tightened the regime of granting bail to foreign nationals caught with commercial quantities of drugs by ordering mandatory deposit of passports, two sureties for securing release and departmental proceedings against police, court officials and revenue staff in the event the sureties turn out to be fake, HT reported.

The order came while the top court was dealing with a bail cancellation filed by the Centre against a Nigerian national who was found to be an active member of a drug trafficking syndicate and had absconded after details of surety and local contact given by him turned out to be false.