Mumbai: In the trial against dismissed RPF constable Chetan Singh, a quadruple murder accused, the prosecution on Tuesday examined one of the passengers, a Muslim businessman, at whom the accused had pointed his service rifle. The witness was travelling with his wife and two children. “He (Singh) came closer to us and was looking at us, he pointed his gun at us. He looked at my wife, she was wearing a burqa…I asked him what happened and what was he doing. After hearing me shout other passengers shouted too… he moved back,” the witness recalled. As Singh moved back, the witness pulled the chain of the train, following which the carnage ended and Singh alighted from the train. “Therefore, the train stopped and somebody said he (Singh) alighted from the train… then somebody closed the door and we felt secure…The train started moving,” the witness said. The 53-year-old witness identified an unfazed Singh, who was present in court. He also recognised the rifle used in the crime. So far six witnesses have deposed during the trial.On July 31, 2023, Singh allegedly gunned down with his service rifle his senior, ASI Tikaram Meena, in B5 compartment on Jaipur-Mumbai Superfast Express, followed by a passenger, Kadar Bhanpurwala, in the same coach between Vaitarna and Mira Road stations. He then went to coach B2, where he took another passenger, Syed Saifuddin, to the pantry car at gunpoint and shot him. Singh then shot Asghar Shaikh in coach S6 and gave a communally charged speech while standing next to the blood-splattered body.The sixth witness, his wife and their two children were returning from a pilgrimage when the four murders took place on the same train. After the murders, Singh entered the witness’s coach. Early on July 31, 2023, the witness noticed a woman running into the coach asking if anybody was there. The witness said that when he asked her what had happened, she revealed that somebody killed someone. The witness said that when he asked her if someone had died, the woman angrily responded “agar goli maarega toh marega hi na (if he shoots, someone will die)”.The witness said that soon after he saw “an RPF person entering the coach, holding a machine gun in his hand”. The witness said that this was when Singh came closer to his wife and him and the verbal exchange took place. “…the train reached Borivali and I alighted. I saw many police personnel were gathered at the platform. Then I came to know three-four were killed in the train. We were in tension so we took our bags and went away… the police recorded my statement on Aug 5, 2023,” the witness said.During his cross-examination by the defence lawyer, the witness denied the suggestion that he identified the accused by seeing his photographs in the news. “It is not true to say that the rifle shown to me is not the same rifle…not true to say that I was not travelling in the train on the said date…not true to say that the tickets were not booked in the name of my wife and children,” the witness said. The trial will continue on Sept 15.
