- Thursday, February 27, 2025
The accused Chetan Singh started shooting from his official automatic weapon around 5 am local time, killing three.
By: Shubham Ghosh
IN a shocking incident, an Indian Railway Protection Force (RPF) official on Monday (31) shot dead four persons, including a senior colleague — an assistant sub inspector (ASI) of RPF, on board a running train near the Palghar railway station in the western Indian state of Maharashtra, according to an official.
The accused was arrested after he tried to flee. His arm was also recovered.
According to RPF sources, four casualties were reported in the firing incident that took place on board the train which was going from Jaipur to Mumbai.
The accused Chetan Singh started shooting from his official automatic weapon around 5 am local time, killing the ASI who was his escort duty in charge, and three passengers travelling on that train, NDTV reported citing official sources.
The ASI, identified as Tikaram Meena, was a resident of Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.
Singh hails from Hathras in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
They were accompanied by two other RPF personnel and the police were taking their statements, the officials added, according to the NDTV report.
A top official told the media that Singh has a “short fuse” and that he is “hot headed”.
Inspector general of RPF (Western Railway) Praveen Sinha told the media, “He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. There was no altercation. He just lost his temper and shot his senior, then fired at whoever he saw.”
The passengers killed in the firing were yet to be identified, the RPF said. They were in different compartments where Singh went and allegedly shot them.
He pulled the chain and got off the train near Dahisar station near Mumbai, a top railways official said. He was later arrested by the police with the help of RPF and Government Railway Police personnel.
Four RPF personnel, including the accused, were escorting the train from Surat station in the western state of Gujarat. India’s long-distance trains generally have four to five personnel of the GRP and RPF to give them security in their respective railway divisions. Their counterparts take over from them when the train enters another division.
The deceased ASI, Meena, is survived by his wife and two children — a 35-year-old son and 25-year-old daughter both of whom are married. His mother is 80. Meena was due to retire in 2025.
