A chargesheet filed by the police before a court in Mumbai against dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, who is accused of killing his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train on July 31, stated that the ex-constable was completely sane and mentally stable. According to media reports, Chaudhary was well aware of what he was doing on the running train.
Over 1,000-page chargesheet relied on the depositions of over 150 witnesses before coming to this conclusion. The investigation officials recorded the statements of 3 of such witnesses before the court under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. The 1206-page chargesheet was submitted by the Government Railway Police (GRP) before a magistrate's court in suburban Borivali.
Earlier on Friday, the police filed a chargesheet before a court in Mumbai against Chaudhary.
The chargesheet was then committed (transferred) to the session court. The accused, who is in judicial custody, has been shifted to a prison in Akola district of Maharashtra, and as it was risky to produce him before the court here in person, he was being produced through video conference, the GRP told the court.
"In such circumstances, kindly commit the case to sessions court in the absence of Chaudhary's physical presence," it said in the application.
A copy of the chargesheet would be served to the accused in prison, the police assured the court.
However, Chaudhary's lawyer advocate Jaywant Patil said the process should be carried out in his presence, and requested the court to issue a production warrant for his client. The court then adjourned the matter to November 2.
Chaudhary has been booked 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.
Chaudhary (34) was nabbed with his service weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain and it stopped near the Mira Road suburban station.
What happened on July 31
The incident took place on July 31 on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra. He allegedly first shot dead RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with the automatic weapon. After that, he allegedly shot dead a second passenger in the pantry car and another in S6 coach next to the pantry car.
(With agencies inputs)
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