Commuter hit by stone, loses vision

Barely three months after 34-year-old Daksha Gugal lost her life after falling off a train between Sion and Kurla stations on January 23, two commuters were seriously injured after being hit by stones, with one losing his sight, while travelling in local trains on Tuesday.

Barely three months after 34-year-old Daksha Gugal lost her life after falling off a train between Sion and Kurla stations on January 23, two commuters were seriously injured after being hit by stones, with one losing his sight, while travelling in local trains on Tuesday.

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A 30-year-old commuter lost his eyesight, another sustained injury on his chin after being hit by stones while travelling in two different suburban trains, the government railway police (GRP) said.

The first incident occurred at around 10pm near Wadala station. The GRP official said 30-year-old Satish Tari had boarded the train at Kharghar. Tari was standing near the door as he had to get down at Wadala station but an unidentified person threw a stone at him while the train was crossing Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar and Wadala stations.

The stone pierced his right eye and it started bleeding profusely. Tari’s co-passengers informed the stationmaster and he was rushed to the Sion hospital where doctors operated on his eye. Senior GRP inspector Shivaji Dhumal said, “As soon as we were informed about the incident, we rushed Tari to Sion hospital. The doctors have not yet informed us that he has lost his eyesight.”

Doctors from Sion Hospital said that his right eye has suffered an irreparable damage. “We conducted a surgery on him to suture the area around his eye. However, his vision cannot be restored as his eye ball was ruptured in the attack,” said Dr S Merchant, acting dean of Sion hospital. He added that though he is fine, he would be kept under observation for few more days.

“The patient has suffered a tragic incident and needs to be under doctor’s care for few more days,” added Dr Merchant.

Dhumal said they have requested the railway authorities to build boundary wall on the railway premises so that people living in slums near the railway tracks do not resort to such violent activities, which may cost someone’s life.

In the second incident, Navnath Karade, 39, was injured after being hit by a stone thrown at him from the shanties near the railway tracks while he was travelling in a train towards Ghatkopar.

The incident took place around 10.15 pm, the police said. The stone hit Karade on his chin. Karade then got off Dadar station and went to Sion hospital where he was given treatment and discharged.

The Wadala and CST railway police have registered a case against an unknown person under Section 152 of the Indian Railway Act in these two cases.