A magistrate court on Tuesday remanded Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh accused of killing his senior and three passengers on a train in police custody till August 7.
On July 31, Mr. Singh, 33, shot dead RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena (58) and three passengers - Abdul Qadirbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (62), Akhtar Abbas Ali (48), and Sadar Mohammed Hussain (48), using his automatic weapon on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express around 5 a.m. He was produced by Borivali police on Tuesday afternoon.
Advocate Amit Mishra appearing for the accused said Mr. Singh is innocent and did not kill anyone. The prosecution while seeking police custody for 14 days also said that Mr. Singh is mentally unfit. However, the magistrate sent the constable to seven days in police custody.
The media was not allowed to be inside the courtroom.
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Mr. Singh was arrested by Government Railway Police personnel and his weapon was seized as he was trying to flee when the train stopped between Mira Road and Dahisar stations after passengers pulled the chain.
Mr. Singh allegedly fired 12 rounds from his automatic weapon and the GRP recovered eight bullets from the weapon after the incident. He killed the senior policeman and a passenger in coach B5, another passenger in B6, and one in the pantry car between the B5 and B6 coaches.
Mr. Singh hails from Hathras in Uttar Pradesh and was transferred to Mumbai from the Bhavnagar division last March. He had recently visited Hathras and returned to duty on July 17. He was arrested under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the Indian Penal Code and Sections of the Indian Weapons Act and Indian Railway Act.
Tika Ram Meena hailed from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan and was due for retirement in 2025. He is survived by his wife, a 25-year-old son, and two daughters aged 18 and 20.
On July 31, evening, Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of fact-checking website AltNews, posted a video from his personal X (formerly Twitter) handle purportedly showing Mr. Singh justifying the killings and making some communal remarks. However, Shivaji Sutar, Executive Director (Information & Publicity), Ministry of Railways, said, “The location and authenticity can’t be established. The matter is under investigation.”
