Called back on duty, drunk fireman attacks colleague

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: A fireman allegedly attacked his senior c o l l e a g u e with a chopper in the Marol fire brigade office early on Sunday.

The victim, Mangesh Dicholkar (56), sustained head injuries and has been admitted to KEM Hospital in Parel, the police said.

The incident took place around 12.05 am on Sunday. According to the MIDC police, the accused, Liyakat Mokashi 45, is still at large. The police have seized the chopper used for the assault on Dicholkar.

The police said that the fire department needed more personnel after a fire broke out at Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Lalit Modi’s bungalow in Juhu on Saturday evening and therefore they asked all the firemen who had left for the day to return to duty. Modi was not home at the time of the incident.

The MIDC police, which registered a case of attempt to murder against Mokashi, stated that one of the duty wardens at the Marol fire brigade called up the accused and asked him to return to office for duty. A reluctant Mokashi then returned to the Marol fire brigade office. According to the victim’s statement, Mokashi was drunk when he returned. Mokashi saw Dicholkar, a duty warden, sitting in the room and suspected that the latter had called him up. An angry Mokashi, pulled out his chopper and attacked Dicholkar. Police said another officer, who had left for the day, had called up Mokashi.

Mokashi fled after Dicholkar began crying for help and other firemen ran to his aid. A bleeding Dicholkar was taken to a private hospital and later shifted to KEM. His condition is said to be stable. A police team went to Mokashi’s Mumbra residence but could not find him there.

The Times of India, December 21, 2009