Railway employees on Wednesday remembered Atul Mone, a victim of the Pahalgam terror attack, and mourned his passing. Mone, a resident of Dombivli and a senior section engineer at the wheel shop of Central Railway`s Parel workshop, was among those killed in the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday.
A memorial candlelight prayer was held in Mone`s memory at the workshop in the morning, with all his colleagues paying their respects. “He used to pass my cabin and greet me every morning by waving. He was always smiling, never even argued with anyone and was very sincere about work,” Suryakant Panchagam, his colleague at the Parel workshop, said.
Terror victim Atul Mone’s colleagues at the Parel workshop
“On my personal behalf and on behalf of National Railway Mazdoor Union (Central Railway/Konkan Railway), I express deep shock and profound grief over the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Jammu & Kashmir, in which Mr Atul Mone, serving as senior section engineer in the wheel shop of Parel workshop, tragically lost his life. Mone, an active and dedicated member of NRMU, was on a picnic tour to Kashmir with his wife, child, and extended family members at the time of the incident,” Venu Nair, general secretary, National Railway Mazdoor Union, said.
Another colleague, AL Tamilarasan, said Mone was 44 years old at the time of his passing and had joined the Railways when he was 18 on compensatory grounds, said, “He was always dedicated to his work. We will miss him.” “On Saturday, he was so happy and told us he was on a family trip to Kashmir and went off on his journey with his family, including two male cousins. We didn’t think that he would never return. We are just too shocked to say anything more,” another colleague, Umesh Kadam, said.
His other three colleagues, Pawan Kumar, Anil Bhise and Rajesh Nadar couldn’t control their grief, saying, We lost a good man to terrorism. He was everyone’s friend, and his daughter had recently passed her Std XIIth exam.” All his colleagues rushed to Dombivli to receive his body, which arrived on Wednesday afternoon. Mone had completed 24 years of service with Indian Railways.
The Central Railway Mazdoor Sangh (CRMS) also strongly condemned the terrorist attack and the death of Mone. “He was a sincere employee, and I offer my heartfelt tribute to him and all the tourists martyred in this attack. The government should take strict action against terrorists,” CRMS president Praveen Bajpai said.
