Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh was remanded on Tuesday by a Mumbai Court to the custody of the Government Railway Police till August 7 for shooting dead his senior official and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express train.
Singh used an automatic weapon AKM, which is a modified version of the AK-47, to shoot dead his senior -
Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena - and three passengers in the B5 coach of the train after 5 AM on Monday. The accused fired at three places on the train - B5, where two victims were shot dead, the pantry, where one person died, and S6, where one person died. He allegedly fired around 12 rounds during his shooting spree.
According to the copy of the remand exclusively accessed by CNN-News18, Chetan Singh was arrested under section 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC), Arms Act, and Railway Police Act.
The sequence of events was narrated by Chetan’s colleague, Aman Acharya, an RPF personnel with the Mahalakshmi division. Acharya, who is the complainant in the case, detailed the sequence of what happened in the coach before Chetan Singh killed four people.
Here’s What Happened on the Jaipur-Mumbai Train on Monday
> Chetan Singh informed his in-charge, ASI Tikaram Meena, that he was feeling unwell, with a fever and wanted to disembark at Vapi station.
> Meena advised him to rest, considering he only had two hours of his shift remaining.
> However, Singh was not in the mood to listen to anyone. Despite being given a berth to sleep in the B4 coach, Meena instructed Aman Acharya to take away his rifle. Chetan’s rifle contained 20 rounds, out of which he eventually fired 12.
> He woke up in 10-15 minutes and began demanding his service revolver. He also engaged in a scuffle with Acharya in which he attempted to strangulate him and eventually succeeded in taking the rifle. In a fit of anger, he left the spot.
> After the incident, Acharya immediately went to the pantry car and narrated the incident to his seniors. Later, he learned that ASI Meena had been injured in the firing.
> Singh pulled the chain of the train. After the train came to a halt near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network), he jumped down and began walking on tracks.
> Acharya, who was previously hiding in a sleeper coach, warned the passengers to close their windows and observed Singh firing indiscriminately on the train, as mentioned in the FIR.
> Singh was shortly arrested by personnel of the Government Railway Police (GRP) and RPF after a chase and his weapon was seized.
Additionally, the police have not provided clarity regarding a purported video from inside the coach, where the suspect was seen making communal remarks.
The passenger victims included Abdul Kadarbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar and Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48), a resident of Madhubani in Bihar, while the third victim was yet to be identified, as per a PTI report
CHETAN’S ‘MENTAL HARASSMENT’ COMPLAINT
As per the preliminary probe, the accused had filed a complaint for mental harassment and was upset. A resident of Hathras, Uttar Pradesh, Chetan Singh was earlier posted in Gujarat.
Confirming the incident, the Railway Protection Force stated that four deaths, including that of the ASI, were reported, and the accused was arrested. “He (RPF constable, Chetan Kumar) wasn’t feeling well and lost his calm…There was no argument,’ said Western Railway Police Commissioner.
CHETAN SINGH ‘MENTALLY UNSTABLE’, SAY COPS
The authorities suspect that the accused might be “mentally unstable" and are planning to conduct a thorough examination to assess his mental state.
Police in its remand request said they want to examine the spot where the incident occurred, between Maharashtra and Gujarat to gather more evidence. They also plan to go to Uttar Pradesh, Chetan’s home state, to investigate his background and history.
Meanwhile, Indian Railway has put out a statement on RPF Constable Chetan Singh.
“Some sections of media have reported that Constable/RPF Chetan Singh, who shot dead his senior and other three passengers in Jaipur Mumbai Central SF Express on Monday(31.7.23) was suffering from "abnormal hallucinations" and was diagnosed with a serious anxiety disorder,” it said.
“In this regard, it is stated that there is a system of Periodical Medical Examination (PME) of Railway Protection Force constables, and in the last PME, no such medical ailment/ condition was detected. The treatment for the present medical ailment would have been taken on his personal level by Chetan Singh, and is not in his official records. He and his family have kept it a secret. The matter is under investigation with GRP Borivali.”
FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF MURDER WEAPON
The police have also collected the accused’s fingerprints. With Aman Acharya’s statement which stated that their service revolvers were exchanged, the cops have to send Chetan Singh’s fingerprint details and the murder weapon for forensic examination to ascertain if the four people killed onboard the train were shot with the same gun.
HIGH-LEVEL PANEL TO PROBE CASE
The Railway Board has constituted a five-member committee to conduct a “comprehensive inquiry" of the incident, comprising the principal chief security commissioners of the Western Railway and the Central Railway, the principal chief commercial manager of the North Western Railway, the principal chief medical director of the North Central Railway, and the principal chief personnel officer of the West Central Railway. The panel has been tasked with submitting its report on the train firing incident to the Railway Board within the next three months.
In response to the incident, an ex-gratia amount of Rs 10 lakh has been announced for the passengers who lost their lives.
Additionally, the family of ASI Tikaram Meena will receive their entitled dues as per the service rules, according to a statement issued by the Western Railway.
First Published: Aug 2, 2023 12:58 PM IST
