Burning Cloth Thrown On Deaf Person in Mumbai Local Train
Pramod Wadekar, a Deaf, suffered severe burn injuries after a fellow passenger threw a burning cloth on him on the local train.
A 35-year-old Deaf commuter, Pramod Wadekar from Diva suffered severe burn injuries after a fellow passenger, suspected to be under influence of drugs or alcohol, allegedly threw a burning cloth on him aboard a running local train.
The incident occurred on 25th March 2023 at around 10.30 - 10.45 pm in the Divyang coach of CST to Kalyan slow local train between Kalwa and Mumbra stations. The victim, a resident of Diva, is Deaf and works at a hotel in Powai. He was returning home and had boarded the train from Kanjurmarg. According to newspapers, the trigger for the attack is yet to be investigated. However, according to Deaf sources, the accused asked Wadekar for money when the train was between Kalwa and Mumbra station. When the Deaf refused, he threw the burning cloth on him. Even as fellow passengers in the moderately crowded coach were watching, the accused flung the burning cloth on the victim's shirt which immediately caught fire. Horrified, fellow commuters alerted the victim who then tried to douse the blaze and in turn suffered burns to his left hand and neck while his right hand also got singed. The victim alighted at the next station, Diva, and approached the police who took him to a local hospital. But since there was no facility available, he was taken to KEM hospital in Mumbai.
The Thane railway police checked the CCTV footage and zeroed in on a suspect who after getting off the Kalyan train, boarded the train towards Thane from the adjoining platform. He was identified as a 16-year-old boy from Bhiwandi. A case has been filed against him. Search is on for him.
