MUMBAI: Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, accused of gunning down four people on the Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast Express last month, had confessed to the killings in a phone conversation with his wife and had expressed a desire to end his life.
Singh’s wife has disclosed details of the phone conversation to both security agencies, RPF and GRP (Government Railway Police).
Currently, Singh is lodged at the Thane Central Prison. After getting a go-ahead from the Borivli magistrate court, a team of RPF personnel visited him in prison this week to record his statement, as part of an internal inquiry. Singh refused to divulge much to them though.
On July 31, Singh had gunned down his senior, ASI Tikaram Meena, followed by three passengers in different coaches of the train between Vaitarna and Mira Road stations. Inquiries have revealed that besides the shootings, he threatened a burqa-clad woman and a family at gunpoint in separate instances, but did not open fire at them as they resisted.
After a passenger pulled the alarm chain and the train halted between Mira Road and Dahisar at 5.55am, Singh jumped off it with his rifle. But he continued to fire in the direction of the train.
Sources connected to the probe said that after getting off, Singh made a phone call to his wife and said, “Mujh se galti ho gayi hai (I have made a mistake)”. He told her that he wanted to end his life and that she would now have to raise their two young children. He also made a call to his uncle. His call data records are being analysed by investigators and will be a part of the chargesheet.
Investigators are putting together a minute-by-minute sequence of what transpired on the train right since the RPF escorting team boarded at Surat and until the bodies of the four victims were brought out at Borivli.
Phone conversations between terrified passengers and their families about the gunshots they had heard will also form a part of the crucial evidence.
Besides this, investigators have evidence in the form of video clips shot by witnesses on the train, including Singh’s communal speech while standing next to a victim’s body.
Singh’s wife has disclosed details of the phone conversation to both security agencies, RPF and GRP (Government Railway Police).
Currently, Singh is lodged at the Thane Central Prison. After getting a go-ahead from the Borivli magistrate court, a team of RPF personnel visited him in prison this week to record his statement, as part of an internal inquiry. Singh refused to divulge much to them though.
On July 31, Singh had gunned down his senior, ASI Tikaram Meena, followed by three passengers in different coaches of the train between Vaitarna and Mira Road stations. Inquiries have revealed that besides the shootings, he threatened a burqa-clad woman and a family at gunpoint in separate instances, but did not open fire at them as they resisted.
After a passenger pulled the alarm chain and the train halted between Mira Road and Dahisar at 5.55am, Singh jumped off it with his rifle. But he continued to fire in the direction of the train.
Sources connected to the probe said that after getting off, Singh made a phone call to his wife and said, “Mujh se galti ho gayi hai (I have made a mistake)”. He told her that he wanted to end his life and that she would now have to raise their two young children. He also made a call to his uncle. His call data records are being analysed by investigators and will be a part of the chargesheet.
Investigators are putting together a minute-by-minute sequence of what transpired on the train right since the RPF escorting team boarded at Surat and until the bodies of the four victims were brought out at Borivli.
Phone conversations between terrified passengers and their families about the gunshots they had heard will also form a part of the crucial evidence.
Besides this, investigators have evidence in the form of video clips shot by witnesses on the train, including Singh’s communal speech while standing next to a victim’s body.
