A key witness in the July 2023 Jaipur-Mumbai train shooting firing incident, in which an RPF constable allegedly killed four people on a moving train, on Tuesday told a local court that the accused had pointed his gun at him and his family, but withdrew when passengers raised an alarm.
Deposing before Additional Sessions Judge YB Pathan at the Borivali court in Mumbai, the 53-year-old witness recounted that he was travelling with his wife and children on the Superfast Express when the shooting occurred near Palghar station on July 31, 2023.
“He aimed the weapon at us, but when several passengers began shouting, he stepped back,” the witness said in court, according to news agency PTI.
He then pulled the train’s emergency chain, bringing the train to a halt.
The accused, former RPF constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, is charged with the murders of Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena, his senior colleague, and three passengers. He was caught shortly after the incident and has remained in custody since then.
The witness said that his seat was reserved in the S-5 coach of the train. He was sitting on the side lower berth near the door when a woman came running in their bogie and shouted that someone had been killed on board.
The witness said when he asked the woman whether anybody had died, she replied angrily that if someone is shot by a bullet, then that person is bound to die.
Soon afterwards, he saw an RPF man (Chaudhary) entering their coach, holding a machine gun (service rifle) in his hand, the witness said during his examination-in-chief by Public Prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale.
On seeing Chaudhary, the witness went to his wife and children and stood close to them.
“The RPF person came closer to us and was looking at us. He pointed his gun at us,” the witness said, according to PTI.
The witness said he then started shouting, and on hearing him, other passengers also raised their voice.
The RPF personnel then stepped back, following which the witness pulled the chain, bringing the train to a halt between Dahisar and Mira Road railway stations.
After the train stopped, somebody alighted from the train, he told the court.
The witness identified the RPF constable with the rifle (gun) to be Chaudhary, who was present in the court, PTI reported.
He rejected defence lawyer Jaywant Patil`s statement that the witness identified the accused based on the news reports and that he was not travelling on the train when the incident occurred.
Chaudhary has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and others, as well as relevant provisions of the Railways Act and the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
He was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the train`s chain.
Apart from shooting dead Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon, he gunned down a passenger in a pantry car and one more passenger in the S6 coach next to it.
(With PTI inputs)
