In the ongoing trial of dismissed Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh, accused of a quadruple murder, a woman passenger testified on Monday about a terrifying encounter with him on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express in July 2023.
The witness, a 38-year-old homemaker who was traveling with her children, told the court that Singh, armed with a rifle, forced her to chant “Jai Mata Di.” “When I saw a man wearing a police uniform coming towards me, he was holding a rifle,” she said. “Then he asked, ‘Iss desh mein rehna to hai Jai Mata Di bolo.’ I complied quietly, but he demanded I say it loudly or he might shoot me.” She said she briefly caught the rifle as it was pointed at her before Singh walked away, leaving her terrified.
The testimony was recorded before Additional Sessions Judge Y. B. Pathan at Dindoshi Sessions Court in suburban Mumbai, with Singh appearing via video conference from jail.
During cross-examination by defence counsel Jaywant Patil, the witness denied giving false testimony and said she believed she was targeted because she was wearing a burqa. She also clarified that she had not identified Singh from media photographs and admitted she could not distinguish the specific rifle used from other rifles present.
Singh is accused of killing his senior colleague, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena, along with three passengers on board the train near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra on July 31, 2023. The trial continues as the court hears further evidence in the high-profile case.
