In a freak accident, a chief ticket inspector (CTI) onboard the Mahananda Express was killed by a stray bullet fired by unknown assailants on Friday evening when the train was passing through the city.

The victim, 52-year-old Kifayatullah Khan, was admitted to the Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) Hospital in Delhi where he succumbed to the injury. The bullet had hit the right side of his stomach.

The victim was a resident of Batla House in Delhi. He was working with the random railways ticket checking staff under the Moradabad division of the Northern railways. The victim deputed in the random checking squad had boarded the train in Ghaziabad.

The GRP officials of Ghaziabad and Old Delhi said the victim was shot at by a few unknown assailants between Hindon Bridge and Sahibabad. One of the passengers told the  police that the CTI was standing at the gate when a bullet hit him.

According to preliminary investigations, the GRP police said a few assailants were testing country-made weapons by firing it on trains.