Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Paranoid schizophrenic man who pushed passenger onto Tube tracks sent to mental health hospital 'indefinitely'

'I am finding it hard to come to terms with or understand why a complete stranger would push me onto the tracks'

Jess Staufenberg
Monday 16 May 2016 19:28 BST
Comments
The incident happened in December last year at Kentish Town tube station
The incident happened in December last year at Kentish Town tube station (Getty)

A mentally ill man who caused horrific injuries to a fellow passenger after pushing him under the Tube has been detained indefinitely.

Devindra Ferguson, who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia and had stopped taking his medication, followed Kamlesh Ramji onto the platform and pushed him into the path of an oncoming train.

The 29-year-old, who handed himself into Lewisham police station later the same day, was sent to a mental health unit for an indefinite amount of time at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday May 13.

When he handed himself in to officers he is understood to have said, "All you need to know is that it was my intention", but could not explain his motive.

The incident at Kentish Town tube station left Mr Ramji severely emotionally and physically damaged, with a fractured skill, brain injuries, a punctured lung, fractured ribs, a broken leg and a shattered pelvis.

Mr Ramji said he has been seriously physically and psychologically impacted by the attack (Google Street View)

The 40-year-old business development manager has also said he is too afraid to go outside since the attack in early December last year because he feels safer at home.

"It has had a severely devastating physical and emotional effect on me," he told the Evening Standard.

"I am finding it hard to come to terms with or understand why a complete stranger would push me onto the tracks."

Gary Richardson, detective superintendent at British Transport Police, said this kind of attack was "very rare".

“This was a terrifying incident which left the victim with broken bones," he said in a statement.

“Thankfully, however, incidents of this nature are very rare on the rail network, and today’s sentence shows that we will not tolerate any type of violent crime on the rail network and we will always seek to prosecute people who do commit a crime.”

It is understood that if Ferguson's mental health improves, he may be returned to the courts to face a lengthy prison term.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in