Chetan Singh, the Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, who shot dead four people on a Jaipur-Mumbai train on Monday, reportedly asked for a victim’s name before taking him to the pantry car and firing at him.
After the firing incident, Singh was taken into the custody of the Government Railway Police (GRP).
The victims have been identified as Singh’s senior, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena (57) from Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan; Asgar Abbas Ali (48) from Madhubani in Bihar; and Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurwala (64) from Nalasopara in Palghar, Maharashtra. The fourth victim has been identified as Syed Saifullah (43), a resident of Hyderabad.
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According to his family, Saifullah had gone to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah, and was on his way home via Mumbai. A resident of Hyderabad’s Bazar Ghat area in Nampally, he reportedly had a cellphone repair shop and was his family’s only earning member. He is survived by his wife and three daughters, aged 6 years, 2 years, and 6 months, The Indian Express reported.
Saifullah was reportedly accompanied by Zaffar Khan (76), the owner of the premises where his cellphone repair shop is located.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Khan’s relative, who did not want to be named, recounted him as saying that they (Khan and Saifullah) were sitting on their berth when Singh barged into their B2 coach and asked Saifullah’s name. “As soon as Saifullah gave his name, the RPF constable forced him to accompany him at gunpoint,” the relative said.
He said that when Khan objected, Singh pointed the gun at him. Saifullah was then reportedly taken to the pantry car, where he was shot.
In a tweet on Tuesday afternoon, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi said, “He was a resident of Bazaarghat, Nampally. He is survived by 3 daughters, the youngest is just 6 months old. AIMIM Nampally MLA… is with the family for the past few hours & coordinating with officials to bring the deceased’s body to Hyderabad.”
Nampally MLA Jaffar Hussain Mehraj also alleged that Saifullah was asked his name before being killed. “There were other passengers. His seth (Khan) was travelling with him. Nothing happened to anyone. Saifullah, who had a beard, was identified by his religion and killed. We have his seth’s testimony that names were asked before the killing,” the MLA told the media.
Chetan Singh, who was on escort duty, fired 12 rounds from his automatic service rifle near Palghar railway station, first killing his senior and then the three passengers, officials had said. The accused was nabbed with his weapon while trying to flee.