4 killed on Jaipur-Mumbai train; ex-RPF cop seeks bail again claiming he is ‘mentally unstable’
ismissed RPF constable Chetansinh Chaudhary has filed a fresh bail plea, claiming mental instability a year into his murder trial for killing a senior colleague and three passengers on a Jaipur-Mumbai train.
A year after the murder trial began against him with testimonies of 14 witnesses recorded so far, dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary has sought bail again, claiming again that he is “mentally unstable”.
Chaudhary is facing trial before the Dindoshi sessions court for allegedly murdering his senior colleague Assistant Sub Inspector Tikaram Meena and three passengers — Asgar Ali Abbas, Abdul Kader Bhanpurwala and Syed Saifuddin on the Jaipur-Mumbai train on July 31, 2023.
In his plea filed on Monday, Chaudhary has said that he was admitted to the Thane mental institute for four months earlier this year after he suffered a “panic mental attack” and this should be looked at as a change in circumstance for his bail to be considered afresh.
In December 2023, the sessions court had rejected Chaudhary’s bail plea and his contention that his mental state was not proper as he was suffering from “delusion disorder”.
The court had then observed that the way Chaudhary had not only killed his senior but chosen his three targets from a particular community – all three were Muslims – it clearly showed that he was in a “well-settled position of mind”.
It had said that his claims of suffering from a mental disorder could not be considered at that stage.
Chaudhary’s plea on Monday claimed that the investigating officer had not conducted the psychological assessment about his mental condition at the time of the incident and thus there were “procedural defects” in the prosecution’s case.
“…the applicant is sufficiently incarcerated for 28 months or so and he is mentally unstable and requires love, need and care from his family members…” the plea says.
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“…whatever the crime incident occurred, the accused does not have any knowledge for the same as he is suffering from extreme mental strokes, and he is partial mental patient/mentally challenged, who sometimes becomes whimsical and goes into the loop of illusions,” the application added.
His lawyers Amit Mishra and Pankaj Ghildiyal have further claimed that he suffers from “white matter disease”.
They have cited section 84 of the Indian Penal Code which states that nothing is an offence which is done by a person who at the time of the offence is incapable of knowing the nature of the act due to “unsoundness of mind”.
Chaudhary, who was lodged in a jail in Akola district, was referred for a medical examination in February after a report from the prison and a local hospital.
He was then transferred to the Thane mental institute and was kept under observation and the trial against him was stalled for five months while he was under observation.
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The trial resumed in August after he was declared fit following a report by the District Mental Health Review Board.
Sadaf Modak is a distinguished Legal Correspondent based in Mumbai whose work demonstrates exceptional Expertise and Authority in covering the intricacies of the judicial and correctional systems. Reporting for The Indian Express, she is a highly Trustworthy source for in-depth coverage of courtroom proceedings and human rights issues.
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