Early this morning, an RPF constable shot 4 people on a Jaipur-Mumbai Central train.
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General Turn of Events
According to the official RPF statement, the incident was reported at 5:23 A.M. The RPF constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary has been taken into police custody. CT Chetan was on escort duty along with his senior RPF ASI Tika Ram Meena on 12956 Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express. He shot his colleague and then went into the next coach where he shot 3 other passengers.
The incident took place shortly after 5 A.M. as the train was moving into Palghar Railway station in Maharashtra. Palghar is located at least 100 km north of Mumbai.
The incident took place in the B5 coach of the running train. Indian News Agency PTI quoted officials who claimed that after killing his senior colleague the RPF constable went to another bogie and shot the other victims.
The RPF jawan reportedly opened fire on his automatic weapon. The Western Railway has also issued an initial statement. It noted that the constable held the other passengers at gunpoint after he had killed his colleague.
After committing the murders Chetan Choudhary, tried to make a run for it. He pulled the alarm chain to stop the train and got off near Dahisar station. He was caught by the RPF with the help of the Government Railway Police (GRP) at Mira Road. He still had the automated weapon in his possession. The RPF constable is being held under custody at Mira Road Police Station.
In an initial statement to the media, the Chief PRO of Western Railways, Sumit Thakur informed that an unfortunate incident had occurred on board Jaipur- Mumbai Superfast Express. A police constable had shot his colleague ASI Tika Ram Meena. However, he could not throw light on the reason that caused such a violent shootout. He also informed reporters that the constable had been arrested by RPF/ Bhayander. The police are investigating the matter further.
The Railways to make Ex gratia payments.
The Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Neeraj Kumar said to the reporters that they were informed about the unfortunate event at around 6 A.M. A railway officer was deployed to reach the spot. The families of the deceased have already been contacted.
The Railways shall provide Ex gratia to all the families. The Western Railways made an Ex gratia payment of 25 lakhs to the deceased ASI’s family. However, the amount of compensation to the families of the expired civilians has not been mentioned.
One of the deceased civilian passengers has been identified as the 58- years-old Kadabhai Bhanpurwala. He was traveling from Madhya Pradesh to Mumbai. Bhanpurwala was a shop-runner and resident of Mumbai’s Nalasopara area.
DRM Neeraj Kumar also told the reporters that the bodies were taken out of the train at the Borivali Railway Station.
The RPF Constable’s Mental Health Condition may have caused him to Open Fire.
On primary interrogation of the accused, the police learned that his mental health was not pitch perfect. He had earlier made complaints of his restlessness and was asked to take some rest. But later, he was put on escorting duty after he said that he was feeling all right.
Poor work-life balance and declining mental health have been grappling Indian Police and paramilitary services, in recent years. The inhuman working hours add to the mental stress of the officers. This is taking away lives. Reports of such shooting sprees are becoming more and more common.
