Maharashtra: RPF jawan who killed 4 on train had argument over communities

The Railway Protection Force jawan who shot dead four railway passengers including an RPF ASI in the Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express had argument over communities.     The accused RPF constable has been identified as Chetan Kumar, The Indian Express reported. The newspaper quoted a source as saying that Kumar started firing after getting into an argument with the ASI, Tika Ram. “Kumar and his senior ASI Tika Ram were deployed in the train for security during which the firing incident took place after an argument between Kumar and Ram,” the source said. A Western Railway official in Mumbai told The Indian Express that a fight had allegedly broken out following “an argument over communities”, though the reason behind the shooting is yet to be clear.

The incident occurred in coach B5 of the train. According to The Indian Express, Kumar first shot Ram inside the coach. He “then shot at Abdul Kadir, who was from Madhubani. He later killed an unidentified man in the pantry car, and moved to the S-6 coach where he shot Asgar Kai, a bangle seller from Jaipur,” the newspaper reported. “It is regretted that ASI Tika Ram and three passengers were shot at. Constable Chetan Kumar got down near Dahisar and tried to flee after pulling the alarm chain. But, he was arrested by RPF Bhayandar along with the weapon,” an official told the newspaper. “Our probe is on and we are questioning the accused and other passengers to ascertain the exact reason and sequence of events. ”Western Railways said compensations have been announced for the family of ASI Tikaram Meena -- ₹ 15 lakhs will be given from Railway Surksha Kalyan Nidhi, ₹ 20,000 for funeral expenses, ₹ 15 lakhs as Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity, and ₹ 65,000 as General Insurance Scheme. Tikaram Meena is survived by a wife and two children -- a 25-year-old daughter named Pooja, and a 35-year-old son. Both of them are married. He also has an 80-year-old mother. Mr Meena was due to retire in 2025.