Title - Loco pilot hurt in stone pelting incident

MADURAI: The loco pilot of Rameswaram - Madurai passenger train suffered severe head injury as some miscreants pelted stones even as he was piloting the train with about 600 passengers near Madurai on Sunday night.The assistant loco pilot came to the rescue M Suresh Rangababu (57), the loco pilot who suffered a deep bleeding injury on his head. The assistant loco pilot, who later took control of the train, informed the railway officials who instructed him to halt the train at the nearby Keel Madurai station where Suresh was administered first aid.Government Railway Police (GRP) investigating the incident said that they are yet to ascertain the identity of the miscreants or the motive behind the stone pelting. "It appears to be an unintentional act of the miscreants, possibly children. However, interrogation is on to ascertain the facts," said a GRP officer. But the official did not rule out of the possibility of mischief-mongers who could have hurled stones on the trains deliberately though their target was not the loco pilot.The stone shattered the windscreen of the locomotive and hit the loco pilot around 9.15pm at a spot located between Mela Anupanadi and Keel Madurai railway station about six-km from the city.The train left from Keel Madurai station after 10 minutes. "He was discharged on Monday after getting treatment for his injury," railway police said. A case has been registered under IPC Sec 332. for voluntarily causing hurt to a government servant to deter him from discharging official duty.