Jaipur Express shootout: Accused cop under observation for suspected psychosis

The charge sheet filed by government railway police had identified the shooting incident as a hate crime and stated that he was completely sane and aware of the crime at the time of the incident

MUMBAI: Chetansingh Chaudhary, the dismissed railway police force (RPF) constable accused of shooting dead his senior and three Muslim passengers on-board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in July 2023, is under observation for suspected psychosis, the Thane Regional Mental Hospital has told the Dindoshi sessions court.

Dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable Chetan Chaudhary (PTI)

Chaudhary’s lawyer had requested the court, where his trial is ongoing, to postpone the earlier hearing, saying evidence should not be recorded in absence of the accused. The court had then directed the Thane Central Jail to obtain and submit his medical report by March 29.

Accordingly, on March 24, jail authorities submitted the report of the District Mental Health Review Board, stating Chaudhary was required to be kept under observation at the hospital for another month. He was admitted on February 20 with complaints of abnormal behaviour and poor cooperation and had undergone various investigations as per directions of concerned doctors, the report stated. A detailed report would be made available after another of investigation, it said.

The court had, in January 2025, allowed Chaudhary to be shifted from Akola jail to Thane Central Jail so he could be examined at the Thane Regional Mental Hospital. Doctors at Akola government hospital, where he had been taken for treatment on December 19, 2024, had recommended that he be examined at the Thane mental hospital.

The court had allowed him to be shifted to Thane jail also because it would be easier to produce him in court during the trial.

In his bail plea which was rejected in December 2023, Chaudhary had claimed partial insanity, which was not taken into account by the court. He had murdered his senior and three Muslim passengers based on their appearance, which showed that “he was in a well-settled position and mind to commit murder of (members of) a particular community,” the court had said.

The shooting incident took place on July 31, 2023, when Chaudhary allegedly gunned down his immediate senior, assistant sub-inspector Tikaram Meena, and three passengers named Abdul Kadar, Asgar Abbas Ali, and Syed Saifullah. The charge sheet filed by government railway police had identified the shooting incident as a hate crime and stated that he was completely sane and aware of the crime at the time of the incident.