Bengaluru: Man's head stuck in train engine during 3-hour journey

Bengaluru: In a truly horrifying turn of events, staff members inspecting the engine of a freight train at Birur Junction in Karnataka's Chikkamagaluru district were in for a shock of their lives when they discovered a decapitated head of a man stuck in the train engine's underbelly. As per reports, the head belonged to a man who had reportedly jumped in front of a speeding train at Ranebennur railway station. 

The head got stuck between the huge springs of the train engine and did not dislodge during the three hours it took for the train to cover a 110 km distance between Ranebennur and Birur. The incident came to light after the locopilot of the train asked the staff to inspect the train as he felt that the wheels were dragging a bit. As per the daily, the staff immediately alerted seniors, including railway inspector TS Nayak, upon the discovery of the head.

Speaking to the daily, the railway police said, "We shifted the head to Birur government hospital and flashed the news across all control rooms of railway police as well as law and order police



stations. Soon, we received a call from Ranebennur railway officials, who were looking for the missing head of a man who allegedly committed suicide by jumping before a speeding train on Friday midnight.”

Following this, officials from both the railways stations exchanged photographs of the head. Later, the victim's family identified his remains, and the officials handed over the head to the family after they had completed a few legal formalities, the railway police said.

The victim was identified as 31-year-old Kumar Parashappa Talavar, who was a resident of Challagere and assistant cook at a dhaba located along National Highway 48. Describing the incident, a railway official said, "The engine had covered a distance of 110km betwene Ranebennur and Birur Junction with the head stuck in the springs. It didn't separate during the three-hour journey." 

Talavar's family members had buried his body on Saturday without his head. However, after receiving it, they disinterred the grave and buried it with the body, the daily reported.