- By PTI
- Mon, 22 Sep 2025 11:11 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
A witness in the July 2023 incident, in which an RPF constable allegedly killed four persons on board a moving train, told a Mumbai court on Monday that she saw a "bearded" man lying in a pool of blood after the accused shot him twice.
The 29-year-old witness, who was travelling with her friend on the day of the shooting, gave an account of the deadly attack that unfolded before her eyes.
Former Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary is accused of shooting dead his senior colleague, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena, and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra on July 31, 2023.
He was apprehended near the tracks some time later and has been in jail since then. He was also dismissed from service.
ALSO READ: RPF Clerk Found Dead In Gorakhpur Railway Quarters; Heart Attack Suspected
Deposing before Additional Sessions Judge YB Pathan at the Borivali court, the witness said that she woke up around 5.30 am and saw a person running out of a pantry car, with the accused RPF constable behind him.
"I asked the RPF person (Chaudhary) if something had happened. He just stared at me angrily, and I sat back quietly in my seat," she said.
The woman recounted that her friend wanted to use the washroom, but the RPF constable was standing near it, and when asked to give her way, he glared at her friend, and they were forced to return to their seats.
The witness informed that after roaming in their compartment a couple of times, the accused approached a bearded man and started arguing with him.
He (Chaudhary) then shot the man twice, and she later saw the man lying in a pool of blood, the woman said, while being examined by additional public prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale.
Scared after the attack, the woman, responding to defence lawyer Jaywant Patil, said she didn't go near the spot where the man was shot.
The witness said that she later saw the news about the incident and the RPF constable's arrest at home. The woman identified the accused, Chaudhary, who was produced through video conferencing.
Chaudhary has been charged under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder), 153-A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc) and others, as well as relevant provisions of the Railways Act and the Maharashtra Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by The Daily Jagran. Credit: PTI)