A magistrate court remanded Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, accused of killing four individuals on a train on August 1, in police custody until August 7. The remand was issued by Magistrate Shivdutt Malikarjun Patil Court, Borivali.
Singh (33) allegedly fired 12 rounds from his automatic service rifle, killing three passengers and his senior.
How the shooting unfolded
On July 31, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena, Head Constable Narendra Parmar and Singh were on escort duty for the Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast Express, according to the police remand.
While Meena and Singh were in the AC compartment, Parmar was in a sleeper coach. Constable Amey Acharya, the complainant, went to the AC coach to report to Meena, who informed Acharya about Singh's ill-health and requested the accused to rest until they reach Mumbai. However, Singh was not in a state of mind to listen.
Meena then contacted their senior, Harishchandra Meena, at Mumbai Central and informed him about Singh's health. The senior also requested Meena to convince Singh to rest until they reach Mumbai and then seek treatment. Despite this, Singh did not budge. ASI Meena arranged for Singh to have a conversation with ASC Sujit Pandey, who also tried to convince him.
Acting upon Meena's orders, Acharya brought Singh to another coach, took his rifle and placed it beside him on a vacant seat. After 10-15 minutes, Singh woke up and asked for his rifle. Acharya refused to give it to him, resulting in Singh strangling Acharya and taking the rifle. However, Chetan Singh mistakenly took Acharya's rifle. Acharya informed Meena and retrieved the rifle from Singh. During the altercation, Singh removed the safety catch of his rifle, which Acharya noticed and alerted Meena. Following this, Acharya went to the pantry car.
At 5:25 am, passengers alerted Acharya that someone shot Meena. Consequently, Acharya informed Parmar and the control room about the incident. As Acharya proceeded towards the coach, he saw Singh furiously holding the rifle, following which Acharya stopped mid-way.
Singh tries to flee
Around 10 minutes after the firing, someone pulled the emergency chain, effectively stopping the train between Mira Road and Dahisar. Acharya spotted Singh climbing down from the train to the track with the rifle and taking a shooting position, firing towards the train. Acharya ordered the passengers to close the windows and doors for safety. Singh walked towards Mira Road railway station while holding the rifle.
After 15 minutes, the express train resumed its journey and reached Borivali station. Acharya got off and informed the railway police about the shooting. The bodies were removed from the train and rushed to Shatabdi Hospital.
The accused then dropped his rifle on the track and attempted to escape, but Constable Pawar and Gaikwad apprehended him and recovered the rifle. According to the police remand, Singh confessed to the crime.
Singh’s lawyer says accused did not fire shots
The police requested a 14-day remand because of his mental checkup and other investigation but the court granted seven days of police custody. Meanwhile, Singh's advocate argued in court that his client did not fire the shots.
According to the sources, a doctor was called on Monday at the police station for Singh’s health checkup, which he refused. He was brought to the Cooper Hospital for a medical checkup on Tuesday (Aug 1).
