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A loco pilot who rushed to take his pregnant wife in labour pain to hospital was denied leave by the Southern Railway.
According to railway sources, on the night of April 8, Bibin Joseph was manning a goods train bound for Mangaluru in Palghat Division when he received an SOS from his pregnant wife that she had developed labour pain. However, he continued to run the train for about three hours till it reached the destination and completed his duty.
After handing over the locomotive to the authorities concerned, he informed the Crew Controller about his wife’s condition and gave a request for leave. Since he was on duty, his mobile was on switch off mode. It was only at a scheduled stop that he noticed that his wife was trying to reach him since evening, the sources said.
Mr. Joseph took the next train to his native Tiruvalla in Kerala, about 390 km away. His wife was admitted to a private hospital where she delivered a baby boy the next morning.
As he was celebrating the new addition to his family, Mr. Joseph received a message that he was being marked absent from duty. No reason was cited as to why his leave was rejected, the sources said.
Absence from duty would not only mean loss of pay but also make the employee liable to serious disciplinary action impacting his/her career prospects, the sources said.
The All India Loco Running Staff Association has condemned the rejection of leave to Mr. Joseph and blamed the Chief Crew Controller, Mangaluru, for the same.
Seeking the intervention of the Southern Railway General Manager, the association said there was no justification to the denial of leave, which was a legitimate privilege of the employees, more so, when a family member required immediate medical attention.
Knowing well the circumstances under which the loco pilot had requested leave, the officials rejected his plea and marked him absent from duty since April 9, till date, the association said.
The Southern Railway spokesperson could not be reached for comment on this issue.
Published – April 12, 2025 07:47 am IST
