iNDICA NEWS BUREAU-
A homeless Indian origin man in Manhattan was arrested and booked on suspicion of attempted murder after he pushed a woman onto subway tracks just as a train was entering the station.
According to a criminal complaint filed by Manhattan prosecutors, Aditya Vemulapati, a 24-year-old Indian-origin was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, reckless endangerment, attempted assault in the first degree and assault in the second degree.
Video footage from the station showed Vemulapati at a subway station in Union Square here pushing Liliana Llanos just as the incoming train pulled into the station. Llanos miraculously escaped and sustained only minor injuries. She fell in between two train tracks and narrowly missed the train’s impact as it passed over early morning Thursday.
Vemulapati was taken into custody at the scene, police said.
Platform conductor Bernie Wilkerson told The Post he saw the “disheveled-looking” man “run full speed and pushed her onto the tracks.”
The report said Llanos had headphones on and was listening to Bible passages. Witnesses say she was waiting for the train when Vemulapati approached her, appearing to talk to himself. From the footage it appeared that he had timed the shove just as an incoming train was approaching the station and pushed her without saying a word, the report added.
“It’s very disturbing. We see him waiting, calculating for the train to approach the station and at the opportune moment he pushed the victim onto the tracks,” Kathleen O’Reilly, NYPD Chief of Transit Capt., said.
“She fell fortunately for her between the roll bed and rails, and by the grace of God sustained only minor injuries,” O’Reilly said.
After shoving the woman, Vemulapati saw the police approaching and laid down on the platform. Police are saying Vemulapati is emotionally disturbed.
The incident led the president of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to draw attention to the mental health problems in the city that carry over to subway platforms.
