Sleep-deprived homeless man flings iron rod at train at Charni Road

Work has been going on at a rapid pace on the Frere Road Bridge between Charni Road and Grant Road

A Churchgate-bound local came to a screeching halt early on October 24 when the motorman heard a loud thud and immediately applied the brakes. It was not some technical glitch but the result of a sleep-deprived footpath dweller throwing an angle iron at the moving train. The Government Railway Police (GRP) have arrested the 30-year-old man, who said that he did it because he was not being able to sleep due to the noise of the ongoing work of the FOB at Charni Road railway station.

Around 6.11 on October 24 an RPF constable received information that a Churchgate-bound train had stopped on the way due to a technical glitch. Some officers along with station officials from Charni Road reached the spot and found an angle iron stuck in the battery box.

According to motorman Gaurang Malgundi, when the train was between Charni Road and Marine Lines, he heard a loud thud and applied emergency brakes. The GRP and RPF officers took serious cognisance of the matter and immediately swung into action to find out who was behind the incident. While screening the CCTV cameras in the area cops noticed a man suspiciously moving near the station. Within 12 hours they arrested the suspect, identified as Anil Waghela, 30, a footpath dweller near platform 4 of the station. During questioning, he confessed to have thrown the angle iron at the local.

Speaking to mid-day, Sambhaji Katare, senior inspector at Churchgate GRP, said, "According to his confession, he was irritated with the ongoing FOB work at Charni Road railway station. Due to the noise he was not getting any sleep at night. He even had a small fight with the men working at the site on the night of October 23. Early on October 24 he threw the angle iron towards the moving train."

He further said that Waghela escaped from the spot and slept at his usual place outside the railway station. He was arrested under section 427 (mischief and causing loss or damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upward) of IPC and relevant sections of the Indian Railway Act 1989.

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