Gateman's hands hacked for refusal to open level crossing gate

Three men on a bike severed the hands of a gateman after he refused to open a level crossing gate in north Delhi's Narela area because a train was approaching, railway officials said Monday.

Kundan Pathak's hands were reattached after a major surgery that went on for more than four hours in a hospital in Rohini, said Northern Railway spokesperson Nitin Chowdhury.

The 28-year-old, who also received serious injuries to his legs and neck, was attacked around 1 am Monday.

Pathak, a resident of Bishanpur in Bihar's Banka district, was manning gate number 19 between Narela and Rathdhana when the three armed men demanded that the level crossing gate is opened. He refused as the 18101 Muri Express was approaching, the official said.

One hand was completely severed and the other was detached from the forearm and severely mutilated, the official said.

The Muri Express stopped after getting a distress signal and rushed Pathak to a hospital in Sonepat where he received emergency first aid. He was then taken to the Northern Railway Central Hospital in Delhi and finally shifted to the Saroj Hospital in Rohini.

His brother Chandan Kumar Singh was also injured in the incident and has been admitted to the Ram Manohar Lohia hospital.

Officials said they were yet to ascertain what Pathak's brother was doing at his workplace.

Doctors and officers maintained the vigil outside the operation theatre through the day to monitor the situation, said, Chowdhury.

"All expenses are being taken care of by railways to see to it that he survives and comes back amongst us," the railways said in a statement.

An FIR has been lodged against unknown persons with the Government Railway Police, Northern Railway, Sonepat.

Sources in the railways said a personal angle in the assault could not be ruled out. They added that it was not immediately known what weapons were used to attack Pathak.

Soon after news of the attack broke, protestors demanding safety of staff deployed at unmanned level crossings at remote locations blocked traffic for around five hours on the affected stretch, resulting in many passenger and goods trains getting delayed.