Mumbai, (SONNA) – An Indian railway security guard has been arrested after he allegedly shot dead a colleague and three passengers on board a train.
The suspect was identified by police as Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, 33, who hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath, the chief minister of India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, after the shooting on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express train early on Monday.
In one of the videos widely shared on the X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter, Singh is seen standing next to a blood-soaked body with his rifle in one hand.
“If you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India], I am telling you, it’s only Modi and Yogi,” he was heard saying in one of the videos verified by Al Jazeera.
Videos posted by Indian news agencies ANI and PTI showed blood-stained berths and shattered windows in parts of the train.
Singh is accused of shooting RPF Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Tika Ram Meena and three passengers, two of whom were identified as Muslims, in the moving train near the town of Palghar in the southwestern state of Maharashtra at about 5 am (23:30 GMT on Sunday), two hours away from Mumbai.
Singh allegedly fired 12 rounds from his service rifle to kill his colleague, 57, and a passenger. Singh later allegedly killed two other passengers in two separate train coaches, according to Indian media reports.
Two of the victims were identified as Abdul Kadar, 64, and Asgar Abbas Ali, 48, a bangle seller, according to the indianexpress.com website. The third victim has yet to be identified.
“We received information at 6 am that an RPF constable who was on escort duty opened fired, and four people were shot, one of whom was an ASI,” Divisional Railway Manager Niraj Verma told reporters in Mumbai.
Singh had been involved in an argument with Meena after which Singh opened fire on his senior colleague using his own service rifle, the Indian Express reported.
A railway official later denied the report and said Singh “wasn’t feeling well and hence lost his calm”.
Source: Al Jazeera
