‘I manifest I will walk again’: A train tragedy irreversibly damaged his spine, but failed to break his will

Confined to a wheelchair or bed at his home in Jammu, 25-year-old Tushar Thakur spends his days studying and preparing for the UPSC examinations after a spinal cord injury shattered his dream of joining the defence forces.

At night, he dreams of walking and running again, playing with his dog Bruno and reclaiming the life he lost two years ago.

On May 19, 2024, Tushar was travelling from Jammu to Ahmedabad aboard the Sri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra Express to appear for his Air Force Selection Board (AFSB) interview. He was allegedly punched, kicked, and thrown from the moving train near Ludhiana railway station after objecting to three young men smoking inside the coach.

Recalling the incident, he said, “I was on my way for an interview from Jammu to Gujarat. A group of three young men was in the coach. I just told them to smoke outside the coach as I felt suffocated… After ten minutes, I went to the washroom. As I came out, a punch landed on my face from nowhere, and my ribs felt crushed. I blacked out. I was thrown out. That one day changed my life.”

Tushar in his wheel chair at his home in Jammu.(Express Photo)

The incident left Tushar’s spinal cord irreversibly damaged and a vertebral bone completely crushed — he spent more than two months fighting for his life.

At Dayanand Medical College and Hospital (DMCH), Ludhiana, doctors reportedly refused a “life-threatening” surgery and told him he would never walk again.

However, he said he is determined to get better.

Tushar told The Indian Express on the phone, “I manifest I will walk again; I will show the world I can. I have to walk again for my parents, for their struggle to keep me alive. If God has kept me alive despite such tragedy, there must be some purpose, some plan for me.”

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While the incident happened in May, Government Railway Police (GRP), Ludhiana, registered an FIR only on June 24 after persistent efforts by Tushar’s father, Virander Singh — an employee in Jammu’s power department.

Railways Claims Tribunal awarded Rs 4 lakh compensation last year, besides Rs 1 lakh raised through donations arranged by the then Ludhiana DC Sakshi Sawhney.

Tushar at his home in Jammu.(Express Photo)

Tushar said, “They (railway police) keep calling us and say that we should agree for the case to be closed on a video call with the judge. We have not agreed to it yet. They have failed to catch the culprits, so they want to close the investigation.”

On the other hand, GRP Ludhiana SHO Inspector Jatinder Singh said, “Our Special DGP (Railways) Shashi Prabha Dwivedi, who retired recently, took special interest in Tushar’s case for two years, but there was no clue. Passengers who were in the coach that day were questioned, but no one confirmed any such altercation. No one heard or saw anything. The case has become a mystery for us too. We also feel the burden… that a young man got bedridden. We are proceeding to file a closure report in the court under BNSS that the case remains untraceable, but it can be reopened whenever new evidence emerges.”

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Tushar said, “I never think about why this happened to me only. I can’t really change what happened, but I do miss certain things like playing with my dog Bruno. I used to run with him on the terrace. I miss bike riding and playing cricket.”

Tushar added that he kept seeking support on social media platforms from the Prime Minister to the then Congress MP from Ludhiana, Ravneet Bittu, and several politicians, but nobody came forward.

“I am studying again only because of my parents… but I saw my parents’ struggle, so I decided to study again. My lower back is now stable. I can sit in a wheelchair and in bed. I will walk again soon,” he said.

His father Virander said, “No government helped us except for some donations raised by the then Ludhiana Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney. We have already spent Rs 25-30 lakh on his treatment. After DMCH, he spent a month in AIIMS Delhi, then a month at an Ayurvedic hospital in Kerala, and then at AIIMS Jammu before coming home. He always feels and believes that he will walk again. His belief is my belief too.”