I have one message for everyone who goes through such trauma. Never lose hope. Keep fighting, keep moving, and one day you will stand on your feet again,” says Jayabala Ashar, whose courage became a turning point in the history of Mumbai’s suburban railway safety.

Ashar  made headlines in the late 1990s after bravely confronting a drug addict inside a local train, an incident that eventually led to major reforms in railway policing. On October 26, 1998, Ashar was pushed off a moving local train between Charni Road and Grant Road stations after resisting the accused. The shocking incident jolted the city and prompted the government to establish Mumbai’s first Railway Police Commissionerate.