A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable was mowed down by a train near Sion station around 7am on Wednesday. Constable Sachin Shinde (31), was on night patrol duty and it is possible, said officials, that he was chasing a drug addict when he got knocked down. The body of the drug addict, as yet unidentified, was found a few metres away from Shinde's body.

The incident happened some 300 metres north of Sion station. Officials said Shinde may have been run over by some fast train going towards CST as his body was found near the Up fast track. The drug addict's body was found lying near the Down fast line (line moving towards Kurla and beyond).

Shinde was part of the 2006 batch of constables recruited in the RPF and is survived by his wife and three-year-old daughter. His family stays in the Mansarovar area of Navi Mumbai, said RPF officials.

Shinde was part of a team of two constables deployed for track patrolling in the stretch around kilometre 14/5 between Sion and Kurla, which is notorious for addicts stealing signalling wire to sell as scrap for getting money to buy drugs. This used to see several trains getting stalled there.

"This kilometre 14/5 is the spot where Harbour line as well as long-distance trains merge. There have been complaints of trains getting stalled there due to signal cutting wire. The patrol team, of which Shinde was a part, was tasked with ensuring that the area was clear of unsavoury elements, so that train punctuality was not affected," said JP Singh, senior inspector, RPF, Dadar.

Speaking to dna, Sachin Bilode, senior commandant, RPF, CR, said, "Investigations are going on to find the exact sequence of events. Shinde was a hardworking and sincere person. It is very unfortunate."