Railway Protection Force Constable Opens Fire On Jaipur-Mumbai Train, Senior Among 4 Dead

A Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable on Monday shot dead four people on board a running train near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra.

A Railway Protection Force constable opened fire inside a moving Jaipur Express Train after it crossed Palghar Station on Monday and shot one RPF ASI and three other passengers and jumped out of the train near Dahisar Station. The accused constable has been detained along with his weapon, the Western Railways. Four casualties, including the ASI, have been reported in the firing incident inside the train. The accused has been arrested. DCP North GRP has been informed, Railway Protection Force said.

Th railways has announed ex gratia for the next of kin of deceased ASI Tikaram Meena. Rs 15 lakhs will be given from Railway Surksha Kalyan Nidhi, Rs 20,000 for funeral expenses, Rs 15 lakhs as Death cum Retirement Gratuity and Rs 65,000 as General Insurance Scheme, the Western Railways said.

CPRO Western Railway, said, "An unfortunate incident has been reported today in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express. An RPF constable, Chetan Kumar opened fire on his colleague ASI Tikaram Meena and during the incident, three other passengers were also shot. According to a preliminary investigation, he opened fire using his official weapon. The accused has been arrested. The reason for the firing is not clear yet, we are investigating it."

DRM Western Railway Niraj Verma said, "We received the information that an RPF constable, who was on escort duty, opened fire. Four people were shot, one of them was an RPF ASI. We are providing all medical help and the families have been contacted. Ex-gratia will be given."

"This is an unfortunate incident. Four people have been shot during the incident. We are also examining the witnesses. We are trying to investigate from all angles," Verma added.

The constable fired from his automatic weapon, killing an RPF Assistant Sub Inspector and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am, the official said. Palghar is around 100 km from Mumbai.

Chetan Kumar Choudhary opened fire on his escort duty incharge ASI Tika Ram Meena in the running train, the official told PTI.

After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, the official added.

The constable was caught by police at Mira Road with the help of Government Railway Police and RPF officials.