Title - Chennai : Carpenter held for tearing up EMU seats

A drunk carpenter was arrested after he tore up seats in a first class compartment of a suburban train while searching for his ‘lost’ phone. Railway Protection Force personnel said 48-year-old R. Balasubramanian, a resident of Kadaperi, was returning home after a trip to the city. Around 10 p.m., he boarded the first class compartment of train to Tambaram and as he was reportedly under the influence of liquor, fell fast asleep. He had not even taken a ticket.

When he was woken up by fellow commuters at Tambaram, he realised that his mobile phone was missing. Balasubramanian pulled out his tools and started tearing the cushion seats of the compartment, in an attempt to locate his phone.

He began throwing the cushion covers outside the compartment and was noticed by RPF personnel who took him to the police station. A couple of hours later, when Balasubramanian regained his senses, he said that it was the Southern Railway’s responsibility to locate the cell phone as he had lost it in its property. A case of destruction of public property was registered against the carpenter, who was remanded in judicial custody on Saturday.