July 2023 train firing: Trial begins as Mumbai court records testimony of first witness
July 2023 train firing: Trial begins as Mumbai court records testimony of first witness
Mumbai, More than 15 months after four people were gunned down on a Mumbai-bound train allegedly by a RPF constable, the trial in the case commenced on Monday with a city court recording the testimony of the first witness, who identified the weapon used in the crime. RPF constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, the lone accused in the case who was later dismissed from service, is accused of fatally shooting his superior officer Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express when the train was on the city's outskirts. The first witness, also a dismissed Railway Protection Force staffer, was with Chaudhary at the time of the shooting. He is also the complainant in the case. On the opening day of the trial, the evidence presented by the complainant was recorded before Additional Sessions Judge M L More. During his examination-in-chief, the witness identified the weapon used in the crime . As per Chaudhary's lawyer, Jaywant Patil, testimony of the witness was recorded in absence of the accused as he couldn't be connected through video conferencing from a jail due to technical reasons. The dismissed RPF constable is lodged in a jail in eastern Maharashtra's Akola district, about 550km from Mumbai. The witness will be cross-examined by defence lawyers on November 27, the next day of hearing. Chaudhary has been charged under Indian Penal Code sections 302 , 153-A and others, as well as relevant provisions of the Railways Act and the Maharashtra Prevention Of Defacement of Property Act. The shooting took place at around 5 am on July 31, 2023, on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express when the train was near Palghar railway station. Chaudhary was nabbed along with his weapon while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station . According to police, the RPF cop shot dead ASI Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon. He then fired at another passenger in the pantry car of the train and one more person in S6 coach located next to the buffet car, killing both of them.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.