Train firing: hate-crime accused rail cop had harassed Muslim man in 2017, committed forgery

RPF constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, who shot dead his senior and three passengers on board a moving train last month, has been dismissed from service and he was involved in at least three discipline-related incidents, including the harassment of a Muslim man in 2017, an official said on Thursday.

The order to sack Chaudhary was issued on Monday by Railway Protection Force (RPF) senior divisional security commissioner, the official said.

As per the official, Chaudhary was part of the force’s dog squad in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain in 2017 when he once brought a Muslim man to the RPF post and harassed him for no reason.

Superiors ordered an inquiry against Chaudhary over the harassment and action was taken against him as per disciplinary rules, he said.

During his posting in Gujarat, Chaudhary assaulted a colleague on one occasion. In another incident, he withdrew money using a co-worker’s ATM card, the official said.

The decision to sack him was taken based on the train killing incident, he added.

Chaudhary (34) is accused of gunning down his senior officer, Tikaram Meena, and three passengers when the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express was near Palghar station on the outskirts of Mumbai in the early hours of July 31.

The three passengers, Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurawala, Sayyad Saifuddin and Asgar Abbas Shaikh, were travelling in different bogies of the train. Chaudhary was later arrested by the Government Railway Police (GRP). The motive behind the chilling crime is still not clear.

Chaudhary first shot dead RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Meena and a passenger in B5 coach with his automatic service weapon. He then gunned down another passenger in the pantry car of the train and one more traveller in S6 coach, according to GRP.

Chaudhary is now in judicial custody, the official said.