Days after a loco pilot was caught halting his train midway to have hot ‘desi’ tea, another pilot went missing mysteriously for about an hour yesterday in search of alcohol while leaving the train on the track, causing much inconvenience to hundreds of passengers on board and disrupting rail services on the Samastipur-Khagaria route. The police have arrested the drunk driver along with an alcohol bottle. Strangely, drinking remains banned in Bihar with the state government imposing total prohibition six years back.

The bizarre incident took place at Hasanpur station in Samastipur district last evening shortly after a Saharsa-bound passenger train coming from Samastipur reached the platform. Reports quoting railway officials and police said the loco pilot Karmveer Yadav went missing once the train was stopped at the station to enable the Rajdhani Express to pass.

The extensive searches launched by the police in view of strong protests by the passengers later found the driver lying in an unconscious state outside the station due to excessive drinking with a partly-empty liquor bottle still stuck between his fingers. The police have arrested the driver and sent him to jail.

As the pilot was jailed, the railway authorities arranged for another loco pilot Rishiraj Kumar to let the train complete the remaining journey. This train driver who was on leave had boarded the same train and was going to his home district of Saharsa, the train’s last destination, railway sources informed. Local divisional railway manager Alok Agarwal said they had sought a detailed report about the incident and action would be taken against the pilot once the investigation is complete.

Strangely, Bihar imposed total prohibition six years back under which drinking remains a serious criminal offence. Under the new prohibition law, the state government has also banned the sale and manufacture of alcohol as the Bihar jails get crowded due to a large number of arrests of people on charges of drinking or even possessing empty liquor bottles.

The fresh incident comes barely a week after another loco pilot was caught halting the Gwalior-Barauni Express train near a railway crossing in Siwan district to have hot tea to beat his fatigue, prompting the authorities to order a probe. According to reports, the train had left the Siwan station at 5.30 in the morning for its onwards journey but as it reached a local tea stall, known for serving good quality ‘desi’ tea, the pilot got tempted to stop the train to enjoy the taste of the aromatic beverage and refreshen his mood.