Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary allegedly forced a burqa-clad woman passenger on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31 to say “Jai Mata Di” at gunpoint, Indian Express reported, quoting police sources. The woman has been made a witness.
The 33-year-old cop shot dead his senior colleague - Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena, and three Muslim passengers on the moving train near Palghar in Maharashtra. The cop who was on escort duty had fired 12 rounds from his automatic service rifle.
Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary fired at his colleague ASI Tika Ram Meena (57) in coach B5. Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurawala (55) was shot in B5, too. B2 passenger Syed Saifuddin was taken to the pantry car where he was shot dead. Then, Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48) was shot in coach S6.
The IE report quoted the burqa-clad woman passenger as saying in her statement that the constable told her to say “Jai Mata Di” while pointing his gun at her and later, forced her to say it again louder. She was travelling in coach B3 of the train.
Choudhary was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network).
He is currently in judicial custody as no further remand was sought by the Government Railway Police (GRP), which is probing the case.
Choudhary is a native of Hathras in Uttar Pradesh and was given the RPF post on compassionate grounds after his father, an RPF staffer, had passed away.
A video of the constable's hate-filled rant showed him speaking to passengers while standing over Asgar Abbas Sheikh's body. He says in it: “Pakistan se operate hue hain, tumhari media, yahi media coverage dikha rahi hai hai, pata chal raha hai unko, sab pata chal raha hai, inke aaqa hai wahan… Agar vote dena hai, agar Hindustan me rehna hai, toh mai kehta hoon, Modi aur Yogi, ye do hain, aur aapke Thackeray” (‘They operate from Pakistan, this is what the media of the country is showing, they have found out, they know everything, their leaders are there… If you want to vote, if you want to live in India, then I say, Modi and Yogi, these are the two, and your Thackeray’)
Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary was booked under IPC Section 153A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence), besides 302 (murder), 363 (kidnapping), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement), and relevant sections of the Arms Act and Railways Act.