4 shot dead by RPF constable on Jaipur-Mumbai train, arrested
What's the story
Four individuals were reportedly shot dead by a Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel on a moving train near the Palghar Railway Station, Maharashtra, on Monday.
Railway officials revealed the accused fired from his automatic weapon, killing a fellow RPF jawan and three other passengers onboard the train traveling to Mumbai on the Jaipur Express.
Meanwhile, a picture of the accused has also surfaced online.
Twitter Post
Picture of RPF constable who shot 4 people dead
RPF jawan shoots 4 persons dead onboard Jaipur-Mumbai train #RPF accused pix pic.twitter.com/W2Vc6KTu9S
— Preeti Sompura (@sompura_preeti) July 31, 2023
Details
Details on accused and what happened
Identified as Chetan Kumar Choudhary, the accused allegedly opened fire at his escort duty in charge, Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tika Ram Meena, on the moving train.
Railway officials also revealed that he jumped out of the train near the Dahisar Railway Station.
However, Choudhary was later caught by the police at Mira Road with assistance from RPF officials and the Government Railway Police.
More details
RPF officials provide further details on incident
Providing further details, RPF officials told news agency ANI, "Four casualties, including the ASI, have been reported in the firing incident inside the Jaipur Express train (12956)."
"The accused has been arrested. DCP North GRP has been informed. The families of the deceased persons are being contacted, and the ex gratia amount will be given to them," added the officials.
Twitter Post
Visuals of Jaipur-Mumbai Express
Four people were shot dead in the firing incident inside the Jaipur Express train (12956). The accused has been arrested.
— ANI (@ANI) July 31, 2023
Visuals from Mumbai Central Railway Station pic.twitter.com/RgNjYOTbMD
Know more
Know about Western Railway's statement on incident
The Western Railway also released a statement saying, "An RPF constable opened fire inside a moving Jaipur Express Train after it crossed Palghar Station."
"He shot one RPF ASI and three other passengers and jumped out of the train near Dahisar Station. The accused constable has been detained along with his weapon," Times Now quoted it as saying.
Further information
Accused was mentally unstable, upset: Report
An NDTV report claimed that the accused RPF personnel was upset regarding his transfer, as he had recently been transferred from Gujarat to Mumbai.
Inspector General of the RPF Praveen Sinha said, "He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. He just lost his temper and shot his senior."
Furthermore, Choudhary was also dealing with several family-related issues and was mentally unstable.
Further details
ASI Meena was due for retirement in 2025
While Choudhary is reportedly from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, his deceased senior Meena hailed from Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur.
Meena was due for retirement in 2025, said reports.
In the meantime, the two other on-duty RPF jawans are also being interrogated to connect the dots in the probe.