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‘Railway cop forced passenger to walk at gunpoint before shooting’; More details emerge
Chetan Singh, 33, is accused of using his automatic weapon to gun down senior RPF colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on a moving train.
Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, who shot dead four people aboard Jaipur-Mumbai train in early hours of Monday, had forced one of the victims to walk two coaches away up to the pantry car before shooting him dead, a GRP official said citing the investigation.
Singh, 33, is accused of using his automatic weapon to gun down senior RPF colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on a moving train near Maharashtra’s Palghar railway station.
"RPF constable Chetan Singh forced Syed S, a passenger travelling in B2 coach of the train, to walk at gunpoint up to the pantry car where he shot him dead. They crossed coaches, B2 and B1, before reaching the pantry car while other passengers watched," the official was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
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‘Hate crime’
According to the police, Singh first shot senior colleague Meena point blank, minutes after the train crossed Vaitarna station. He then killed a passenger identified as 60 year old Abdul Kaderbhai in the same compartment. He then crossed four coaches and subsequently killed two more passengers.
Following the crime, Singh leaned his assault weapon against the side seat, launching into a hate-filled rant targeting Muslims, which he asked the passengers to record on their phones for the media’s consumption, the police said.
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After the train halted, he got down near Mira Road station, as some passenger had pulled the emergency chain and walked along the tracks. GRP’s application said Singh also fired some rounds towards the train and then dumped his rifle on the tracks and started running towards Mira Road station where he was caught.
GRP said it will scan the footage of CCTV cameras installed on the train to investigate further. The Railway Board has set up a five-member committee to conduct a "comprehensive inquiry" into the train firing incident, an official said.
‘Motive unclear’
After the RPF team boarded the train at Surat, Singh complained about feeling uneasy during the journey. He wanted to get off at Valsad, however, ASI Meena tried to persuade him to complete the duty.
But he insisted and spoke to a senior through RPF control and was asked to complete his duty and get himself medically examined at Mumbai Central- their destination. “"Medical examination of the accused has been conducted but his motive behind the killings is still unclear. We are collecting information about other passengers too," PTI reported quoting the officer.
A Mumbai court Tuesday remanded Singh in police custody till August 7.
