July 2023 train firing: Trial begins as Mumbai court records testimony of first witness

Mumbai: Fifteen months after four persons were gunned down on a Mumbai-bound train allegedly by a RPF constable, the case trial has commenced with a city court recording the testimony of the first witness, who identified the weapon used in the crime.

RPF constable Chetan Chaudhary, the lone accused in the case who was later dismissed from service, is accused of fatally shooting his superior officer Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express when the train was on the city's outskirts on July 31, 2023.

The first witness, also a dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) staffer, was with Chaudhary at the time of the shooting. He is also the complainant in the case.

On the opening day of the trial on Monday, the evidence presented by the complainant was recorded before Additional Sessions Judge M L More.

During the examination-in-chief, the witness identified the weapon used in the crime (examination-in-chief refers to process of questioning a witness by the party who has called them to testify).

As per Chaudhary's lawyer Jaywant Patil, the testimony of the witness was recorded in the absence of the accused as he couldn't be connected through video conferencing from a jail due to technical reasons.

Chaudhary is lodged in a jail in eastern Maharashtra's Akola district, about 550 km from Mumbai.

The witness will be cross-examined by defence lawyers on November 27, the next day of hearing.

Chaudhary has been charged under Indian Penal Code 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.

The shooting took place at around 5 am on July 31, 2023, on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express when the train was near Palghar railway station.

Chaudhary (34) was nabbed along with his weapon while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network).

According to police, Chaudhary shot dead ASI Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon.

He then fired at another passenger in the train's pantry car and one more person in S6 coach located next to the buffet car, killing both of them.