Railway firing: RPF constable pointed gun at us but stepped back after we raised alarm, says witness

Mumbai, Sep 9 (PTI) A witness in the July 2023 incident in which the then RPF personnel allegedly shot dead four persons on board a moving train, on Tuesday told a court that the constable had pointed his gun at him and his family, but stepped back after he and other passengers raised an alarm.

The witness, who was travelling with his wife and children in the express train on the day of the incident, then pulled the train's emergency chain, bringing the train to a halt.

Former Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary is accused of shooting dead his senior colleague - Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena - and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra on July 31, 2023. He was apprehended near the tracks some time later and has been in jail since then.

The 53-year-old witness testified before additional sessions judge (Borivali court) Y B Pathan.

The witness said that his seat was reserved in the S-5 coach of the train. He was sitting on the side lower berth near the door when a woman came running in their bogie and shouted that someone had been killed on board the train.

The witness said when he asked the woman whether anybody had died, she replied angrily that if someone is shot by a bullet, then that person is bound to die.

Soon afterwards, he saw an RPF man (Chaudhary) entering their coach, holding a machine gun (service rifle) in his hand, he said during his examination-in-chief by public prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale.

On seeing Chaudhary, the witness went to his wife and children and stood close to them.

"The RPF person came closer to us and was looking at us. He pointed his gun at us," the witness said.

The witness said he then started shouting, and on hearing him, other passengers also raised their voice.

The RPF personnel then stepped back, following which the witness pulled the chain, bringing the train to a halt between Dahisar and Mira Road railway stations. After the train stopped, somebody alighted from the train, he told the court.

The witness identified the RPF constable with the rifle (gun) to be Chetansinh Chaudhary, who was present in the court.

He rejected defence lawyer Jaywant Patil's statement that the witness identified the accused based on the news reports and that he was not traveling on the train when the incident occurred.

Chaudhary has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and others, as well as relevant provisions of the Railways Act and the Maharashtra Prevention Of Defacement of Property Act.

Chaudhary was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the train's chain.

Apart from shooting dead RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon, he gunned down a passenger in a pantry car and one more passenger in the S6 coach next to it. PTI AVI NP