Loco pilot, deputy exchange blows inside the engine

An altercation between a Loco Pilot and an Assistant Loco Pilot on board a diesel locomotive at Tiruchi Junction led to a fisticuff between them with both of them sustaining injuries.

The brawl between the two running staff happened in the late hours on Wednesday when they were running a diesel locomotive to haul the Chennai Egmore-Tiruchendur Chendur Express after it reached Tiruchi.

Loco pilot V. Dhinakaran (35) and assistant loco pilot M. Sivakumar (35) boarded the diesel locomotive at Tiruchi to haul the express train from platform no. 5.

Railway Police sources said an altercation broke out between the two inside the locomotive moments before the train was to leave Tiruchi Junction.

The verbal tiff eventually led to a fisticuff between them with the Loco Pilot and the Assistant Loco Pilot raining blows on each other.

In the fight, Mr. Sivakumar sustained bleeding injury on his nose.

He alighted the diesel locomotive and lodged a complaint to the Government Railway Police at Tiruchi Junction against the loco pilot.

On a complaint from Mr. Sivakumar, the Railway Police booked a case against Mr. Dhinakaran under IPC sections 294 (b) (uttering obscene words in a public place) 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 506 (i) (criminal intimidation). Sivakumar was later admitted to the Mahatma Gandhi Government Hospital here for treatment.

Counter complaint

Meanwhile, Mr. Dhinakaran piloted the express train up to Madurai and alighted there.

He returned to Tiruchi on Thursday and preferred a complaint against Mr. Sivakumar.

The Railway Police booked a case against Mr. Sivakumar under the same IPC section, the sources said.