Dave, a senior news editor in the Gujarati daily Samkaleen of The Indian Express group, was sleeping near the window of the fast local when he was hit on his left eye near Poisar Naka at Borivli. Bleeding profusely, he was helped off the local at Borivli by a fellow commuter Pravin B Ved. He registered a complaint with railway police and was taken to Bhagwati Hospital, where his injury was declared serious. Dave, who was conscious throughout the ordeal, then asked Ved to inform his family. Soon after his wife arrived at the hospital and took him to Dr Shyam Agarwal's hospital at Malad.

Dave had left office early on Sunday, having finished his work quickly, hoping to enjoy the evening at home in Dahisar. ``We had teased him then and asked him to be careful ofstones, this being the season of Holi,'' said his friend Pankaj Shah. Their warning proved true, with devastating effect. According to Dr Shyam Agarwal, there is no hope of restoring his eyesight. ``We managed to save the structure only after a three-and-a-half hour operation which ended well past midnight,'' he said. ``There was nothing left in the eye, all the essential fluids had drained off by the time he came here,'' he added. The doctor said Dave would take at least three months to recover fully from the injuries. ``But the trauma is likely to remain with him longer, it could even affect his return to work,'' he added.According to Shah, Ramesh Dave started his career in journalism nearly 20 years ago with Janshakti. He had then moved on to Pravasi and finally joined Samkaleen 12 years ago.

Having had a weakness in his left leg, Dave usually preferred a Borivli fast local instead of the crowded Virar trains from Churchgate. ``He had difficulty getting on and off, so he used to take a bus to Dahisarfrom Borivli,'' said Rishikesh Dave, his nephew. Meanwhile, the GRP have launched a hunt for the four urchins who allegedly threw the stone at the local. ``We have picked up 10 kids, we're hopeful of finding the culprit by tomorrow morning,'' said K Ramchandran, superintendent of police (railways). Police said the incident might have been a reaction to demolition of slums along tracks near Poisar last week. GRP has posted 160 personnel near 68 slums on CR and 90 near 30-odd slums on WR to prevent throwing of water balloons and other items on locals.