Thanks to alert cop, train brakes inches from suicidal youth's head

By Express News Service     Published: 12th July 2016 

BENGALURU: A quick-thinking policeman in a new Hoysala saved a 20-year-old student from suicide on Monday. The rescue brought to mind terrifying action scenes from the movies.

Sharan (name changed), a diploma student, was determined to die on the tracks near Jalahalli. Constable Yeshwanth went all out and got the train to stop just in time, police said.

Around 11am, Yeshwanth was on a patrol, driving one of the high-tech Ertigas recently acquired for the Hoysala fleet. He spotted Sharan near a railway bridge opposite the HMT School near Tata Aquila Heights, according to the police.

Cruising some distance from the tracks, Yeshwanth repeatedly asked Sharan over the megaphone to move out of the train’s way. He then switched on the siren to draw the loco pilot’s attention.

Sharan, distressed over his poor academic performance, continued to walk. Yeshwanth sped to the side of the engine with the siren blaring, and called out to the loco pilot, again using the megaphone.

The loco pilot peeped out to see what the commotion was all about and slowed the train near the bridge. The Shivamogga-Bengaluru Express stopped just inches from the student, Yeshwant said. Yeshwanth got out and consoled Sharan, who was crying. With a bruise on his forehead, Sharan was taken to hospital for first aid.

“As soon as the train turned the bend, Sharan lay down on the tracks. The loco pilot stopped just in time,” Yeshwanth told Express. Sharan is a resident of Chamundi Layout in Vidyaranyapura.

Yeshwanth, attached to the Hebbal police station, won praise from onlookers and train passengers for his presence of mind and timely intervention.