- By Ajeet Kumar
- Tue, 15 Sep 2026 12:00 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
- Two 24-year-old friends struck by subway train in Manhattan.
- Malaika Chitre and Navam Kaul died at Spring Street station.
- Police investigating why they were sitting on the subway tracks.
An Indian-origin woman and her Nepali-American friend, both 24, died after a subway train struck them while they sat on the tracks at a Lower Manhattan station early on Sunday. According to a report by the New York Police Department, Malaika Chitre, of Dayton, New Jersey, and Navam Kaul, of Sayreville, New Jersey, were on the roadbed at the Spring Street station when a southbound No. 4 train hit them around 3:15 a.m. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Horrific moment captured on camera
A bystander video circulating widely on social media appears to show the pair sitting calmly on the tracks moments before the train arrived. The train operator told supervisors that Chitre seemed to be laughing as she pulled Kaul toward her while they sat there.
ALERT: 2 people who were tragically killed by the NYC subway were identified as longtime friends and recent college graduates.
— E X X ➠A L E R T S (@ExxAlerts) September 14, 2026
Malaika Chitre and Navam Kaul, both 24 and from New Jersey, were close friends who had recently graduated from Rutgers University in 2024.
Kaul… pic.twitter.com/0Jgk1ucfVq
Train driver applied brakes but could not stop
According to media reports, one of the two either fell or climbed onto the tracks, prompting the other to go down to help. The operator applied the emergency brake but could not stop the train in time.
Police responded to reports of people needing assistance and found the victims after the impact. About 100 passengers were evacuated from the train.The reason they were on the tracks remains under investigation.
Detectives are examining whether the pair may have been intoxicated and failed to recognise the danger. No suicide notes were found, though investigators have not ruled out suicide as a possible factor.
Chitre worked as an operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals. Kaul was a financial data analyst at Bloomberg. Both were Rutgers University alumni who graduated around the same time. Friends and acquaintances expressed shock. One mother of a mutual friend described them as part of the same close-knit South Asian circle that grew up together and celebrated festivals. She said nothing in Kaul’s life suggested he would take such a risk.
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A former high-school classmate called him down-to-earth, goofy, funny, and charismatic. A neighbour of Chitre’s family remembered her as a bright student who played with children in the neighbourhood and said the news was hard to comprehend. Kaul’s parents immigrated from Nepal about three decades ago. The NYPD investigation continues.