The Railways Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, said that the family of Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, who allegedly shot dead four passengers in a Mumbai-bound train, kept his medical issues a secret from office, but later withdrew the statement citing an ongoing inquiry, reported The Indian Express.
A press release issued at 5.17 PM by the Railways Ministry read, “The treatment for the present medical ailment has been taken on his personal level by Chetan Singh and is not in official records… He and his family have kept it a secret.”
“In the last PME, no such medical ailment/condition was detected,” the statement said.
However, two hours later, the Railways Ministry deleted the statement from the Press Information Bureau (PIB) website with officials saying that the release stood withdrawn. A Railway Ministry spokesperson told IE that a high-level committee was set up to look into the aspects.
On July 31, 33-year-old Singh, who was on escort duty, allegedly shot dead his senior colleague Tika Ram Meena and three passengers aboard the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express train near Palghar railway station on the outskirts of Mumbai with his automatic weapon.
Singh was apprehended by officers and staff of RPF Post, Bhayandar, and handed over to the local police in Borivali for further legal action. A high-level committee headed by an ADG of the RPF has been constituted to conduct a comprehensive inquiry into the incident.
The deceased were identified as Asgar Abbas Ali from Madhubani in Bihar; Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurwala (64) from Nalasopara in Palghar, Maharashtra; and Syed Saifullah (43) from Nampally in Hyderabad.
Kin of Syed Saifullah alleged that he was asked his name before being killed. Saifullah’s uncle Md Wajid Pasha had said, “This is a terrorist act. He was shot after being asked his name.”
In the video, which was shot by fellow passengers on the train, the accused can be purportedly heard saying, “… Pakistan se operate hue ye, aur media yehi coverage dikha rahi hai, unko sab pata chal raha hai ye kya kar rahe hain… Agar vote dena hai, agar Hindustan mein rehna hai to mai kehta hoon Modi aur Yogi, ye do hain.”
However, Sumit Thakur, spokesman for Western Railway, on Monday said that the location and the authenticity of the video were not established. “It can also be morphed. Matter is under investigation,” Thakur said.