In a tragic incident, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable shot dead four persons on board in a running Jaipur-Mumbai train 12956 on Monday. According to officials, the incident took place when the train was approaching Borivali railway station in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The Railway Police had arrested the constable who opened fire, identified as Chetan Kumar Choudhary.
Among those dead include three passengers and one assistant-sub inspector Tika Ram Meena. Reportedly, he was the escort duty incharge in the Express train.
According to officials, the incident took place around 5 am in the morning. "Around 6 am we got to know that an RPF constable, who was on escorting duty opened fire...Four people have been shot dead...Our railway officer reached the spot. The families have been contacted. Ex-gratia will be given," DRM Neeraj Verma told reporters.
After killing his senior, the constable went to another bogie and shot dead three passengers, the official added.
The constable, who initially tried to flee, was caught by police at Mira Road with the help of Government Railway Police and RPF officials. His weapon was also seized by the police.
"An unfortunate incident has been reported in Mumbai-Jaipur Superfast Express today...The accused has been arrested. The reason for the firing is not clear yet, we are investigating it," Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Western Railways Sumit Thakur told ANI.
An ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh was announced for the next of kin of deceased ASI Meena.
According to officials, four RPF personnel, including the accused were escorting the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express from Surat station in Gujarat.
The accused will be produced before Borivali court. A case has been filed against him under IPC Section 302.
The four member team earlier escorted Dadar-Porbandar Saurashtra Express up to Surat station on Sunday. The escorting team was guarding the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express on its return, said a senior official.
The escort parties provide security to trains in their respective railway divisions and takes responsibility of guarding the trains.
Thakur told PTI that the accused constable was attached to the Lower Parel RPF post here, while ASI Tika Ram Meena was attached to the Dadar RPF post.
The Express train departed from Jaipur station at 2.01 pm on Sunday. The train was about 25 minutes late when it was nearing Borivali station in Mumbai.
The accused tried to escape by pulling the chain, said Thakur.
The train was held up at Borivali station for about an hour before reaching its final destination at 8.07 am in Mumbai Central station.
