New Details Emerge in Tragic NYC Subway Deaths as Friends Were Seen Together Moments Before Collision

The tragic duo killed by a subway train in Manhattan last weekend were hugging and kissing on the platform before ending up on the tracks, where they were struck, law enforcement sources said.

New details have emerged about the final moments of Navam Kaul and Malaika Chitre, the two 24-year-olds who were fatally struck by a subway train in Manhattan last weekend.

Law enforcement sources told the New York Post that the longtime friends were seen hugging and kissing on the platform shortly before the tragedy at Spring Street station at around 3:15 a.m. Sunday.

Investigators believe Kaul then lost his balance and fell onto the tracks, striking his head. Chitre reportedly went down after him, apparently trying to help.

The pair were later seen sitting on the tracks as an incoming No. 4 train approached.

Their final moments captured on camera

Malaika Chitre is pictured on a trip to Europe in a TikTok post from March 19, 2026. TikTok/mal

Surveillance footage reportedly shows Kaul and Chitre appearing calm as they remained on the tracks shortly before the train arrived.

Sources said the train operator did not have enough time to stop before hitting them.

Police have been investigating whether the pair may have been so intoxicated that they failed to recognize the danger or hear the approaching train.

Investigators do not believe the deaths were a double suicide, according to sources.

The circumstances surrounding how the two ended up on the tracks remain under investigation.

Friends struggle to understand what happened

Navam Kaul is seen in an undated Facebook photo. Facebook/Navam Kaul

Kaul and Chitre were longtime friends and had recently graduated from Rutgers University in 2024. Their deaths shocked friends and neighbors who described them as young professionals just beginning their careers.

The pair grew up only about 11 miles apart in Central Jersey. Kaul was from Sayreville, while Chitre’s family home was in South Brunswick.

Their shared South Asian background was also part of the social circle that connected them during their time at Rutgers.

Rajnikant Pipalia, whose son grew up with Kaul in Sayreville, said he could not imagine Kaul deliberately doing something reckless.

“There’s nothing in his life that would make him do anything stupid,” Pipalia said.

Another neighbor, Sagid Qureshi, described Kaul as a financial analyst who appeared to be doing well in his career.

“I was shocked. He was a financial analyst, doing everything right,” Qureshi said. “From what I understand she was doing well, too – good people doing so well, with their whole lives ahead of them. It’s just so sad.”

Two careers just getting started

Chitre had begun building a career in the pharmaceutical industry after graduating from Rutgers. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as a quality operations specialist at Acadia Pharmaceuticals while also studying to become a doctor of pharmacy at Temple University.

Kaul’s professional career was in financial analysis. His LinkedIn profile showed that he had worked as a financial data analyst at Bloomberg after graduating.

A source at Bloomberg said Kaul had been a contract worker and finished the position in May.

For those who knew them, the tragedy is difficult to reconcile with the lives the two appeared to be building.

Both were only 24, had recently completed university and were beginning their professional careers when the early-morning incident at Spring Street station abruptly ended their lives.

The investigation continues as authorities work to establish exactly what happened in the moments between their time on the platform and the arrival of the train.