Priya Aditi
Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, who fatally shot four passengers onboard the Jaipur-Mumbai train in the early hours of Monday, forced one of the passengers to walk two coaches away to the pantry car before shooting him, a GRP official said, citing the investigation.
Singh, 33, is accused of using an automatic weapon to kill senior RPF colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers aboard a moving train near the Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.
“RPF officer Chetan Singh forced Syed S, a passenger in the train’s B2 compartment, to walk at gunpoint to the pantry car, where he fatally shot him. As other passengers witnessed, they traversed coaches B2 and B1 before reaching the pantry car, the official was quoted as saying by media.
According to the police, Singh shot Meena point-blank shortly after the train crossed Vaitarna station. He then murdered a 60-year-old passenger identified as Abdul Kaderbhai in the same compartment. He then crossed four carriages and killed two additional passengers.
After committing the crime, Singh leaned his assault rifle against the side seat and launched a rant against Muslims, which he asked the commuters to record on their phones for media consumption, according to the police.
After the train came to a stop, he exited near the Mira Road station, where a passenger had walked along the tracks after pulling the emergency chain. According to the GRP’s application, Singh fired several rounds at the train before dumping his firearm on the tracks and fleeing towards Mira Road station, where he was apprehended.
GRP stated that it will examine footage from CCTV cameras installed on the train as part of its investigation. An official stated that the Railway Board has established a five-member committee to conduct a “comprehensive investigation” into the train firing incident.
After the RPF squad boarded the train at Surat, Singh remarked that he felt uneasy throughout the journey. He desired to be released at Valsad, but ASI Meena attempted to convince him to complete his duty.
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However, he insisted, and a senior RPF officer instructed him to complete his duty and seek medical attention at Mumbai Central, their destination. “”A medical examination of the suspect has been conducted, but his motivation for the murders remains unknown. We are also accumulating information about other passengers, the officer was quoted as saying by media.
