A 23-year-old man died after he was kicked out of a moving train by another passenger, without any apparent provocation, near Sukhi Sewania railway station on the outskirts of Bhopal, railway police said today.

Ritesh, the victim, was sitting near the door of a general coach of the Kamayani Express yesterday when Rajmal Pal aka Rajju (27) kicked him out, said a Government Railway Police (GRP) official.

According to Ritesh’s cousin who was accompanying him, Rajmal said before kicking Ritesh that ‘I am going to die anyway, so I am killing you’.

The victim and the accused didn’t know each other, nor was there any dispute between them before the incident which could have acted as a trigger, said Hemant Shrivastava, in-charge, GRP police station, Bhopal.

“Ritesh and his cousin Sumit Singh were sitting near the door as they had to get down at Bhopal. The accused kicked Ritesh who fell off the running train and died on the spot,” the GRP official said.

Sumit Singh told police that Rajmal emerged from the toilet and said to Ritesh, “Mujhe to marnaa hi hai, is-liye tujhe maar raha hoon (I have to die anyway, so I am killing you),” and then kicked him out before others understood what was happening.

Further investigations are underway,” Hemant Shrivastava said.

Sukhi Sewania police station in-charge Mahendra Mishra said that Rajmal was returning from Allahabad after performing the last rites of his mother. Ritesh and Sumit were travelling from Allahabad to Bhopal for a wedding.