Train shooting: Accused RPF cop's colleague recounts horrific incident
Chetan Singh, a Railway Protection Force (RFP) constable—accused of shooting dead his senior and three passengers aboard a Jaipur-Mumbai train—was allegedly unwell and probably opened fire out of anger. One of Singh's colleagues told the police that the constable wanted to get off the train but was told to complete his shift, which probably made him furious, NDTV reported. Here's his colleague's full account.
Singh was unwell but was asked to complete shift
Ghanshyam Acharya, also an RPF constable, who was on duty on the superfast train with Singh and the deceased Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tikaram Meena on Monday, informed the police that Singh was unwell and wanted to get off the train at the next station. However, ASI Meena asked Singh to complete the remaining duty, but he was allegedly not in the mood to listen.
Forcefully snatched colleague's rifle
According to Acharya, Meena asked him to bring Singh a cool drink, which he didn't take. Later, on Meena's orders, he allegedly escorted Singh to the B4 coach and directed him to lie down on an empty seat. Singh added that Acharya could not sleep for long and came to him after 10 minutes, asking for his rifle, and forcefully took the wrong one.
Singh was flushed with anger, in mood to open fire
"I realized Singh had taken my rifle by mistake," said Acharya, adding that he immediately informed his higher-ups and Singh about the weapon mix-up. Singh reportedly returned the weapon, but his face was flushed with anger. "He was not listening to us. So I left the place," Acharya said, adding that Singh seemed in a mood to open fire.
Fear gripped passengers after Singh opened fire, killing 4
After several hours, when the train reached the Vaitarna Railway Station in Maharashtra, Acharya got a call from an RPF batchmate, informing him that ASI Meena and three passengers had been shot. "I ran towards coach B5. Some passengers were running toward me in fear. I called Constable Narendra Parmar and ensured he is fine. I also alerted the control room," he said.
'Felt he may shoot me too so turned around': Acharya
The railway constable informed the police that he saw Singh approaching the B1 coach with the rifle, with wrath on his face. "I felt he may shoot me too. So I turned around. About 10 minutes later, someone pulled the chain. I checked an app and found that the train was between Mira Road and Dahisar stations," Acharya said.
Western Railway's statement on train shooting incident
On Monday, the Western Railway released a statement regarding the incident, 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.
Accused was mentally unstable, upset: Reports
According to reports, the accused RPF personnel was upset regarding his transfer, as he had recently been transferred from Gujarat to Mumbai. "He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. He just lost his temper and shot his senior," said Inspector General of the RPF Praveen Sinha, per NDTV. Furthermore, Choudhary was also dealing with several family-related issues and was mentally unstable.
