In a shocking incident on board the Jaipur-Mumbai train, an escort security guard in a fit of rage went on a shooting spree in the wee hours of Monday, killing his superior officer and three other passengers as the train passed through the Palghar district of Maharashtra on the Western Railway (WR) route.
The motive behind the shooting has not yet been established.
The accused was identified as Chetan Singh (30), a Constable of the RPF, who was in service for around 12 years.
The deceased officer, meanwhile, has been identified as Teekaram Meena (58), ASI of RPF.
Both were part of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) team comprising an Assistant Sub-Inspector, a Head Constable and two Constables, who boarded the 12956 Jaipur-Mumbai Central Super-Fast Express in Surat to escort the train to Mumbai.
Following the shooting, the accused was nabbed after being overpowered by a team of Government Railway Police (GRP) between the Mira Road and Bhayander stations in Thane district.
The three deceased passengers have been identified as Abdul Qaderbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (62), a resident of Nalasopara near Mumbai, Ashar Abbas Shaikh (48), who hails from Madhubani in Bihar, and unidentified person aged between 35 and 40 years.
The incident took place around 0500-0515 hrs when the train crossed Vapi and passed through Vaitarna-Virar stretch in Palghar district, officials of the GRP and RPF said.
When the train stopped at Borivali, the bodies were removed from the train and sent to Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital in Kandivali.
The accused, meanwhile, was brought from Mira Road to the Borivali station in Mumbai, where his statement was recorded. He had been transferred from Surat to Mumbai and the move may have given rise to personal issues. Some reports also stated that the accused was facing mental health issues.
Some other possible motives have surfaced and they are being probed too.
As for the weapon used for the shooting, a dozen rounds were fired from an AKM, a modified version of the AK-47 that he was carrying.
"He was unwell…the accused is a short-tempered person…in a fit of rage, he first shot his superior and then shot those who came in front of him,” said PC Sinha, Inspector General, RPF and Principal Chief Security Commissioner, WR.
When asked whether there had been any verbal duel between the accused and his superior officer, Sinha dismissed the suggestion.
“It is just a matter of a few hours that the incident has taken place. We are probing it in detail,” said Ravindra Shisve, Commissioner, GRP. ”I can't comment on whether the accused is mentally unstable," he added.
"It is too early to draw a conclusion. We are trying to verify the videos,” he said to a query about videos of the incident that had surfaced on social media.
According to the police FIR, the accused first shot Meena and one passenger in the B-5 coach and ran towards the pantry car, where he shot another passenger.
Singh will be produced in court on Tuesday.
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