Motorman drives train despite injury
Averting a mishap that could have resulted in tremendous loss of life and property on Wednesday, the motorman of an outstation train, notwithstanding the injury he suffered to his forehead after a stone was pelted at him, continued to drive the train and only halted at Kurla station.
Averting a mishap that could have resulted in tremendous loss of life and property on Wednesday, the motorman of an outstation train, notwithstanding the injury he suffered to his forehead after a stone was pelted at him, continued to drive the train and only halted at Kurla station.
At 3pm, V Patkar, 37, the motorman of the Mumbai-Aurangabad Janshatabdi Express started the train from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST). Around 3.45pm, between Matunga and Sion stations, an unidentified person travelling in a CST-bound fast local threw a stone at the motorman’s cabin. “The stone hit Patkar right on his face. The train had to be halted at Kurla station,” said a Central Railway official.
“At Kurla, Patkar, who was in excruciating pain and was bleeding profusely, was administered first-aid by station doctors. Had he not maintained his composure, a major accident could have occurred. His resilience is commendable,” said Shivaji Dhumal, senior police inspector of Kurla government railway police.
Patkar’s brother, Mangesh, said, “Patkar was taken to Kalyan Railway Hospital and doctors said he wasn’t badly injured.” He was discharged at 9 pm.
The Janshatabdi Express was detained at Kurla station for 30 minutes till Patkar was replaced by another motorman at 4.30 pm, said the Kurla railway police.
The railway police, after lodging a complaint, transferred the case to the Dadar railway police as the incident had occurred in their jurisdiction. The Dadar railway police registered a case against an unknown person under relevant sections of the Indian Railway Act. The incident caused a delay in train services.
In another incident of stone-pelting, an unidentified man fell off a moving local near the Vashi Bridge at Mankhurd. The train was bound for Panvel.