In a shocking and bizarre incident, a local train in Bihar was held up for nearly an hour on Monday after the assistant loco pilot went missing. And, why? He got off the train to go drinking. yes, that’s right.
What happened ?
When the government railway police (GRP) tacked him down, he was found too drunk to get back to the train, Hindustan Times reported. Samastipur divisional railway manager Alok Agarwal said he has sought a detailed report.
“Action against the railway staff will be taken after the inquiry is complete,” Aggarwal said on Tuesday.
According to a GRP official, the incident took place on Monday evening a little over an hour after the Samastipur-Saharsa train (No-05278) started from Samastipur Junction on its 139 km journey to Saharsa.
How did it get resolved?
Suddenly, the train halted 45 km ahead at Hasanpur station but the wait was longer than the stipulated 2-minute stop to allow a Rajdhani train to pass.
The GRP official said it was here that the assistant loco pilot (ALP) Karamveer Prasad Yadav got off and apparently walked to a nearby stall for a drink. However, who supplied the liquor to the pilot is yet to be ascertained.
According to railyatri website which tracks train movements, the Samastipur-Saharsa train does not have a reputation for being on time. As the protests over the long halt started echoing, station master Manoj Kumar Choudhary requested another assistant loco pilot Rishi Raj Kumar who was travelling in the same train to fill in.
Similar incident
The incident comes just eight days after the loco pilot of the Gwalior-Barauni Express (11123) stopped the train near a railway crossing near Siwan station in Bihar for a cup of tea.
