A tragic incident unfolded aboard the Chalukya Express as a catering attendant lost his life and four others sustained severe injuries, two of them critically, in a violent altercation with a masked individual. The altercation erupted when the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) requested the masked passenger to present his ticket. This incident took place in coach No. S8 of Train No. 11006, near Londa in Khanapur taluk, during the evening hours of Thursday.
The deceased, identified as Devarishi Varma (23) from Jhansi, Madhya Pradesh, bravely attempted to intervene when the masked passenger assaulted the TTE, resulting in Varma being fatally stabbed in the chest. Among the injured were three passengers and the TTE, Ashraf Ali, with two of them in critical condition. They have since been admitted to the district government hospital in Belagavi for treatment.
The masked assailant, upon being asked to produce his ticket, resorted to violence, stabbing both the TTE and several other passengers before fleeing the scene. Recounting the ordeal, TTE Ashraf Ali stated, “I requested to inspect the ticket near Alnawar, and the passenger claimed it was in possession of his relatives. When I pressed for their whereabouts, he attacked me with a knife. He then made his escape when I activated the emergency brake to apprehend him.”
