While the railways has been receiving flak for treating accident victims callously, a motorman, commuters and railway staff saved a student, who fell off a train between Malad and Goregaon
(From left) Abhishek Shukla, who fell off the local near Malad, motorman C A Thakur and stationmaster Prabhat Dube
While the railways has been constantly receiving flak for treating accident victims callously, a motorman, commuters and railway staff raced against time to save a student, who fell off a train between Malad and Goregaon on August 8. "My son is alive because the motorman, C A Thakur, and railway staff put his life before everything else," said Pinakin Shukla, the student's father.
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Abhishek Shukla, recuperating
On August 8, Abhishek Shukla, a Dahisar resident, had finished his chartered accountancy classes at Malad and was headed to Goregaon to give some notes to a friend there. He had caught the 9.40am train that had come from Vasai and the compartment was packed to capacity. Abhishek had only found enough space to hang on to the bar at the door.
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GRP Constable Aabasaheb Kengar and (right) GRP Police Naik Balasaheb Narale
Pinakin said, "The train had just left Malad station and my son was hanging on by his fingers. When the crowd swayed because of the motion of the train, he could not hold on any longer and fell off."
'Sensed something amiss'
Abhishek fell on to the adjoining track and lost consciousness after hitting his head on the track. He lay there bleeding when a train started approaching him on the same line. Fortunately for Abhishek, the motorman, C A Thakur, who had spotted him on the tracks from a distance, was able to hit the brakes in time. Thakur then got off the train, and picked up the youth with the help of passengers and took him to Malad.
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"I was operating the fast local to Churchgate from Virar and as I passed Goregaon, the guard of the opposite train frantically waved to me. I suspected something amiss and slowed down the train. As I was moving ahead, I saw a person lying on the tracks, but he was alive and moving," said 42-year-old Western Railway motorman Thakur, who has been operating trains for 17 years.
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"I immediately braked hard and as I had already slowed down the train, I stopped it in the nick of the time. I got down and found him writhing in pain. He had been badly injured due to the fall. My first reflexes were to call up the stationmaster of the next station that was Malad and alert him so that by the time we reached, we could immediately get him medical attention in the golden-hour period," he said.
GRP steps in
"I then requested passengers from my train to help me. We picked him up and put him onboard my train. We reached Malad station fast and the station manager, Prabhat Dube, was already waiting there along with GRP staff. I am glad that we could save a life."
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At Malad station, GRP constables Aabasaheb Kengar and Balasaheb Narale quickly put Abhishek into a Virar train, got off at Kandivli and rushed him to Shatabdi Hospital. Kengar and Narle were so focused on ensuring Abhishek received immediate treatment, that he forgot to call the youth's family until he had been stitched up and his fractured hand plastered. Finally, after 2pm, Kengar found the number of Abhishek's father, Pinakin, from his mobile phone and informed him about the accident.
Kengar told mid-day, "Our job as GRP is to first ensure that the accident victim gets immediate treatment and that his life is saved. We are extremely happy that Abhishek could be saved. He is only 21 years old."
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"I only remember falling off the train and then waking up at the hospital. Everything in between is a blank. I am extremely grateful to the railway staff for taking me to the hospital in time."
His father, Pinakin, told mid-day, "I will never forget the timely aid provided to my son and will never ever hesitate to help someone else in a similar situation. This has been a big eye-opener for me."
Around 10 people die every single day in railway mishaps in the city. In 2016, the government railway police registered 3,202 deaths and 3,363 injured.
(Inputs by Rajendra B Aklekar)
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