Express train shootout: Bullets retrieved from victims match with rifle of Chetan Singh, says police

“The bullet slugs found in all the victims match with the bullet marks caused by Chetan Singh’s rifle,” a GRP officer said, referring to the 1,206-page chargesheet. “Apart from this, the blood found on Chetan Singh’s shirt also matched with that of two of his victims – Sayed Saifuddin and Azgar Ali – who were shot at point blank”

Mumbai: All the bullets retrieved from the four victims of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express shootout have matched with the rifle of dismissed Government Railway Police (GRP) force constable Chetan Singh Chaudhary, who has been arrested for killing his immediate superior and three Muslim passengers onboard the long-distance train.

The GRP has cited 35 witnesses against Chetan Singh, some of whom have seen the dismissed RPF constable shoot the three Muslim passengers on July 31, standing in the pool of blood of one of the victims and giving a speech or passing through the train corridor with a rifle pointed to the back of Saifuddin (PTI)

“The bullet slugs found in all the victims match with the bullet marks caused by Chetan Singh’s rifle,” a GRP officer said, referring to the 1,206-page chargesheet. “Apart from this, the blood found on Chetan Singh’s shirt also matched with that of two of his victims – Sayed Saifuddin and Azgar Ali – who were shot at point blank.”

Apart from the forensic evidence, the GRP has also submitted three video recordings from the mobile phones of the passengers who had seen the shootout and recorded Chetan Singh’s speech, which has been transcribed and added to the chargesheet. The video recordings have been authenticated by the forensic laboratory of Kalina. The police also have CCTV recordings, showing Chetan Singh roaming on the train corridor with his rifle and the abduction of Saifuddin.

The GRP has cited 35 witnesses against Chetan Singh, some of whom have seen the dismissed RPF constable shoot the three Muslim passengers on July 31, standing in the pool of blood of one of the victims and giving a speech or passing through the train corridor with a rifle pointed to the back of Saifuddin.

The police have also recorded the statements of three people, including RPF constable Amey Acharya and head constable Narendra Parmar, under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a metropolitan magistrate.

The police have recorded the statements of Chetan Singh’s wife Renu. When contacted, she said it had become difficult for them even to survive as her husband’s bank account has also been frozen and claimed that she does not even have money to pay for appointing a lawyer to defend her husband.

Renu, who is at present in Uttar Pradesh, said that Chetan Singh had never spoken anything related to anti-Muslim feelings or had never even been a part of any political party or other politically motivated group. “The communal angle given by the police is untrue. Chetan Singh was a hard working man and was a dedicated RPF constable,” Renu claimed.

“Chetan Singh has given 15 years of his life to sports (football) and RPF, but he was not helped at all by his superiors,” Renu said. She blamed the superiors of her husband, claiming that despite repeatedly telling the seniors and making applications about Chetan Singh’s mental health, he was ignored.

Chetan Singh had become forgetful and was mentally disturbed, Renu said, adding, “Chetan Singh and PSI Teekaram Meena had work-related arguments earlier as well.”