A 45-year-old man who walked away with the suitcase of a train motorman in Tambaram early on Monday, was arrested at Dindigul later in the evening. The motorman’s documents, a cell phone and a flash light were recovered. However, the safety detonator sticks to caution oncoming trains in the event of a mishap and a key for the suburban electric trains are still missing.
S.K. Eswaramurthy, a senior motorman, had finished his duty on Sunday and left his suitcase at the Station Master’s room. He returned to duty on Monday morning and was unable to find the suitcase. However, he was able to get a spare set of the kit and went about hiswork. Meanwhile information about the missing suitcase reached the Government Railway Police Station, Tambaram.
The policemen browsed through closed circuit television visuals and noticed a stranger walking away with a suitcase on his shoulder at 1.50 a.m. on Monday. A message was passed on to all GRP Stations between Tambaram and Tirunelveli with the instruction to look out for a stranger with the suitcase.
Meanwhile, information reached GRP men at Dindigul station about a stranger who had locked himself inside the toilet in the unreserved compartment on board the Vaigai Express. Policemen managed to bring him out and detained the suspect, later identified as S. Ramesh (47) of Kadaperi, Tambaram. However, Ramesh did not have the suitcase with him. He was brought to Tambaram on Tuesday morning.
While the motorman Mr. Eswaramurthy’s documents, flash light and a cell phone were recovered from Ramesh, the train engine’s key and detonator sticks are still missing. The detonators are part of the mandatory kit of motormen and guards to warn oncoming trains of a possible risk ahead. It may be recalled that in April 2009, an unknown person started an electric train, which collided with a goods train at Vyasarpadi Jiva railway station, resulting in the death of 4 people and injury to more than a dozen people.
