SURAT: A foreign national died at a Railway Protection Force (RPF) post in Surat on Monday night after being detained following a quarrel with co-passengers aboard the Golden Temple Express.The man, whose identity and nationality are yet to be established, allegedly became violent during the altercation and was brought to the RPF post along with two other passengers for questioning. He suddenly collapsed while being questioned and was rushed to SMIMER Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.The Surat railway police have launched an inquiry, treating the case as a suspected custodial death.According to police, the RPF and Government Railway Police (GRP) received an alert about a quarrel among passengers in the general coach of the Golden Temple Express. Since Surat was the train’s next halt after Mumbai, police teams reached the train when it arrived at around 10 pm. The foreign national was allegedly violent, and around 10-15 police personnel had to intervene to restrain him.Police said the altercation began when the man picked a quarrel with co-passengers over standing near the coach door while the train was passing through Dahanu. The argument escalated, prompting other passengers to contact the railway helpline for assistance. During the altercation, the man allegedly picked up a fire extinguisher and assaulted some passengers.Following complaints from two co-passengers, the man was taken to the RPF post for questioning.Deputy Superintendent of Police D H Gor told TOI that the exact cause of death would be known after the postmortem report. “The deceased was not carrying any identification documents, but we are trying to establish his identity and nationality. A mobile phone was found on him. We have initiated an inquiry as per protocol,” he said.
