Killing of Muslim passengers by RPF constable termed ‘hate crime’ by family of victim

Railway Protection Force (RPF) Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary, who shot dead four passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express on Monday, being taken to be produced before Magistrate court at Borivali, in Mumbai, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI

Syed Saifuddin | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The family members and friends of one of the people who were shot dead by a Railway Protection Force (FPF) constable termed the incident a ‘hate crime’ considering that three of the four victims were Muslims.

RPF constable Chetan Kumar opened fire inside the running Jaipur Express (12956) near Palghar Railway Station in Maharashtra on Monday and killed four people – an Assistant Police Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena and three other passengers who were Muslims.

Syed Saifuddin, 43, from Hamilapur in Bidar district who had settled in Hyderabad as a mobile technician, is one of the slain passengers. His brother Syed Younus and friend Aslam Janab suspected that the constable identified Muslim passengers by their beard and cap before opening fire at them.

“It is clearly a case of hate crime. As per the emerging reports, the RPF constable, after killing the ASI, walked through the coaches and killed only Muslim passengers. It was easier for him to identify the targets with their beards and caps. Communal forces are spreading the hate among the people and the ordinary people are bearing the brunt,” Mr. Janab told The Hindu.

Dismissing the claims of senior police officers that the accused constable was mentally unstable, Mr. Janab questioned why the self-loading rifle was given to a mentally unstable man. “Such statements are part of attempts to cover up facts,” he added.

Mr. Younus, who is leaving for Mumbai to collect the body of his brother, expressed similar views. “The targets were not random. The way the attacker walked through train coaches and selectively killed Muslim passengers clearly shows his intentions,” said.

As per the information provided by his family members, Saifuddin was returning from Ajmer after paying a visit to the famous Sharif Dargah there when he fell prey to the RPF constable at the moving Jaipur Express. He had planned to buy some material in Mumbai and return to Hyderabad. Mr. Saifuddin is survived by two brothers, wife and three daughters – the eldest daughter is 5 and the youngest is six months old. His funeral is expected to be held in Bidar.