Killer cop reminded me of Ajmal Kasab, says B5 attendant

Singh, 33, shot dead his immediate superior ASI Tikaram Meena and a passenger Kadar Bhanpurwala, 60, in B5 AC coach, which Shukla was attending to. Singh went on to kill two more people in other parts of the train.

MUMBAI: “He reminded of Ajmal Kasab,” said Krishna Kumar Shukla, 41, coach attendant, about Chetan Singh, Railway Protection Force constable, who shot dead four people on Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express early on Monday.

B5 coach attendant Krishna Kumar Shukla says RPF constable Chetan Singh’s posture and mannerism reminded him of Ajmal Kasab,

Ajmal Amir Kasab was a terrorist and was caught alive after he, along with his nine accomplices, carried out horrendous attacks in the city on November 26, 2008, and killed at least 164 people. He was convicted for his role in the attacks and executed.

Singh, 33, shot dead his immediate superior ASI Tikaram Meena and a passenger Kadar Bhanpurwala, 60, in B5 AC coach, which Shukla was attending to. Singh went on to kill two more people in other parts of the train.

Shukla said he had seen Bhanpurwala board the train at Bhavani Mandi station in Rajasthan.

“He was a regular traveller. I had seen him once resolve a fight between a passenger and a ticket checker and therefore, I knew him as a good man,” said Shukla, a native of Madhya Pradesh. He has been working as a coach attendant on contract through a private firm for the past 12 years.

A few stations after Bhavani Mandi, Shukla had ordered tea for Bhanpurwala and others. At night, Shukla said a cleaning staff supervisor requested him to swap their berths as he was not feeling well.

Shukla said he then handed over his berth in bedsheets storage compartment in B5 and shifted to B6. “I went to sleep in B6 and woke up when I heard sounds similar to that of firecrackers or a short circuit,” he said.

Assuming that the sound was from B5, he went to check and noticed ASI Meena lying in a pool of blood and Singh standing nearby with a gun in his hand. He was staring towards B4 coach.

“I could see only Singh’s back as he was facing away, but his posture and mannerism reminded me of Ajmal Kasab,” said Shukla.

Other passengers, who were with Shukla in B6, were scared after hearing the gunshots and seeing an RPF officer lying dead.

Shukla said he even caught a glimpse of Bhanpurwala lying in a pool of blood a little farther away.

“We tried to close the door (separating the compartments), but it was stuck. I then saw Singh move inside B5, before returning to the door and standing a little further from Meena’s body near the storage doorway.

“Seeing the opportunity, some of us forced the door shut but we could still see Singh through the glass pane on the door,” said Shukla.

After five minutes of standing there, Singh moved towards B4 coach and did not return after that, added Shukla.

“I immediately called up an RPF official and informed him about the firing. The RPF official in turn called up RPF constable Aman Acharya (who was on duty on the train) and told him about the incident,” said Shukla.

Acharya contacted Shukla and asked him to come towards S6 compartment.

“I was scared and told Acharya that I will not come there,” said Shukla. He added that other passengers in B6 were let out only when the train reached Borivali station.

“I knew there were more than two bodies and when I saw them on the station, covered in white cloth, I knew I was lucky to have left compartment B5 and gone to B6,” added Shukla.