The incident took place at the Subzi Mandi railway station around 8.30 am on Tuesday. Witnesses said they saw her being dragged by the moving train.

Seema, a resident of Kishanganj in Pratap Nagar, worked at an anganwadi centre in Kheda Kalan and used to board the Delhi-Panipat passenger train every morning.

“I saw her running to board the moving train, she slipped and fell in the gap. She began screaming for help and passengers got off. Railway officials, police and ambulance staff arrived immediately,” said Vijay, a tea vendor at the station.

A senior police officer too said that Seema slipped as she tried to board the coach. She was stuck in the gap between the footboard and the platform. She was dragged at least 20 feet till the train halted, the officer said.

“The rescue operation began immediately. First, the public tried to pull her out. When that wasn’t possible, the railway staff began breaking the concrete platform with hammers,” the police officer said.

Northern Railway Chief Public Relations Officer S K Sharma said a doctor reached the spot within 15 minutes and attended to Seema. She was pulled out at 9.05 am and taken to hospital. She died 40 minutes later at the Hindu Rao Hospital.

“We made sure that every help was provided to her as early as possible. All our staff, including those from the ambulance and the doctors, were at the spot. The staff broke the platform and she was rescued. She died due to excessive bleeding. Her lower body was damaged and she had sustained head injuries,” Sharma said.

Seema’s husband Vikas Sharma had gone to drop her at the station.

Vimal, her brother-in-law, said: “She was getting late and my brother saw her rushing down the stairs to board the train. He then heard her screaming and ran to help her. We thought she was just unconscious, that she would survive. But she was declared dead as soon as we reached the hospital.”

Seema leaves behind a five-year-old daughter and a three-year-old son. Her body was handed over to the family after a post-mortem examination.