RPF constable kills senior, 3 passengers on board Jaipur-Mumbai train; nabbed while trying to flee

Constable Chetan Singh, 33, first shot dead his senior, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tikaram Meena (57), before turning to the passengers, the Government Railway Police (GRP) said.

The incident, according to officials, took place around 5 am after the train left Vapi Railway Station and was nearing Vaitarna Railway Station, around two hours from Mumbai.

In a video, shot by fellow passengers, Singh, standing next to a body, is purportedly heard saying: “… Pakistan se operate hue ye, aur media yehi coverage dikha rahi hai, unko sab pata chal raha hai ye kya kar rahe hain… Agar vote dena hai, agar Hindustan mein rehna hai to mai kehta hoon Modi aur Yogi, ye do hain.”

“The families of the deceased persons are being contacted and the ex gratia amount will be given to them,” a official said, after an #RPF jawan shot dead four people on board a train near Palghar.

Read more: https://t.co/yRTrJnoyrS pic.twitter.com/GVpwxNLvB6

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 31, 2023

Officials said they were checking the authenticity of the video. “Its location and authenticity cannot be established. It can also be morphed. Matter is under investigation,” Sumit Thakur, spokesman for Western Railway, said in a statement.

According to GRP officials, Singh was nabbed by the RPF and GRP personnel while he was trying to escape after the train halted near Mira Road Railway Station.

GRP Commissioner Ravindra Shisve said they are yet to ascertain the motive of the killing. “The constable initially shot his senior after which he went ahead and shot three other passengers who were travelling in the train,” he said.

A high-level committee headed by ADG (RPF) has been constituted to conduct an inquiry into the incident.

The jawan, identified as Chetan Kumar allegedly tried to flee after pulling the alarm chain and getting down near Dahisar, police said.

Read more: https://t.co/yRTrJnoyrS pic.twitter.com/prSUOqcdLs

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) July 31, 2023

Late in the evening, an FIR was filed based on the statement RPF constable Amay Acharya, who was also part of the escort team. According to the FIR, constable Chetan Singh had reported that he was unwell due to which he wanted to be relieved from duty few hours before his shift ended. But as his seniors insisted that he complete his duty, Singh got agitated and shot Meena and three passengers in the train, the FIR said.

GRP officers said that hours before the he allegedly shot them dead, Singh had a verbal altercation with the some passengers at Surat Railway Station and subsequently with ASI Meena near Palghar. “We are trying to ascertain the reason for the fight between Singh and Meena,” said an officer.

RPF ASI Tika Ram. (Express Photo)

Sources said as Singh was engaged in a verbal altercation again with the passengers, ASI Meena intervened. Singh allegedly shot him first point blank. He then shot Bhanpurwala, who was also present nearby, in the same B5 coach. After this, Singh is learnt to have roamed in around five coaches before allegedly killing other two passengers. “Singh then went and shot the third victim (yet to be identified) inside the pantry car and later Asgar Abbas Shaikh was shot in coach number S6,” said a GRP officer.

While the cause of the firing is yet to be officially ascertained, a senior official from Western Railway in Mumbai told The Indian Express that the fight had allegedly broken out following an argument over communities.

As the train neared Mira Road Station, a passenger pulled the chain following which Singh tried to escape. “Personnel from RPF and GRP chased him and caught him while he was trying to escape from Mira Road,” said GRP Commissioner Shisve. He was then taken to Borivali GRP office where he was placed under arrest.

The accused, Chetan Singh. (Express Photo)

Singh, who was earlier posted in Ratlam Division in Madhya Pradesh, had himself sought a transfer to Mumbai. He came to Mumbai in March.

“Apparently he is known to be hot-headed. But then we found no such instance in his record of past five years. His record has been clean and that’s why I posted him in Mumbai when he requested six months ago,” P C Sinha, Principal Chief Security Commissioner of Western Railway, told The Indian Express.

While Sinha earlier told reporters that Singh was “suffering from mental health issues”, Shisve said: “Our investigation is still at a premature stage. We are trying to verify it.”

Singh, who got the RPF job on compassionate ground in 2009 after his father, a constable, passed away, was posted at the Lower Parel workshop. He was on a 12-day leave and returned from his hometown Hathras in Uttar Pradesh on July 18, and put on escort duty – or providing security on long-distance trains.

His five-yearly medical fitness examination was conducted around one-and-a-half years ago, which he passed. That apart there are regular medical checkups every year. “There were no red flags medically as well to explain this behavior. Even after coming back from leave, he had been part of teams escorting trains,” Sinha said.

Railway officials said that Singh and Meena along with two other RPF personnel – Narendra Parmar and Amay – boarded the train at Surat Station. About an hour before the incident, Singh had complained of restlessness following which Meena had called the control room. His replacement was to come in Vapi but then minutes later, Singh told Meena that he was feeling better and will continue on duty.

BJP MLA Manisha Chaudhary, who visited the Borivali GRP, said, “A thorough investigation must be carried out to ascertain the exact reason behind the incident. It must be found out if the accused was under depression or if he was disturbed.”

Officials said the family of ASI Meena will be given an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh, Rs 15 lakh from the Railway Surksha Kalyan Nidhi, a death cum retirement gratuity of approximately Rs 15 lakh along with Rs 65,000 as per the General Insurance Scheme.

The next of kin of the three passengers killed will get ex gratia as per Railway rules, said Railway Ministry officials.