MUMBAI: In yet another incident of train bullying, a commuter bit off the tip of a senior insurance executive's finger following an altercation over standing space in a crowded

local. Asif Shaikh, the accused, was arrested at

's Thane. The victim, Mahesh Dumbre, will be undergoing plastic surgery on his hand.

Dumbre, 34, an assistant vice president with a private insurance company, lives at Ghansoli. On Thursday, he was commuting in a crowded local between

and Thane around 5.40pm. "Shaikh was standing in the passage. More commuters entered the coach at

and Shaikh leaned heavily on me. I pushed him away which sparked off an argument between us," said Dumbre.

While Dumbre stopped arguing after a while, he alleged that Shaikh went on muttering. "After the train left

station, he suddenly lunged at me and grabbed my shirt. Some of my shirt buttons broke and I slapped him. He then started hitting me and bit off the tip of my finger. I felt a sharp stab of pain and saw his mouth covered with blood from my injured finger. Drops of blood fell on the clothes of passengers around us. Everyone in the coach was horrified," said Dumbre.

Thrice thereafter, Shaikh tried to come near Dumbre to hit him but co-passengers held him back. "He threatened to kill me once I got off at Thane. I grew nervous and decided to travel in the train further upto Dombivali. Meanwhile, one of the co-passengers dialled the cops. They arrived at Thane station but co-passengers were too scared to catch hold of Shaikh. He started to run towards an FOB when I gestured at the cops and they took him into custody," said Dumbre.

Shaikh has been booked on charges of assault.