Railway Board forms high-level panel to probe train firing that left 4 dead

The Railway Board has set up a high-level committee to conduct a “comprehensive inquiry” into the firing on board a Mumbai-bound train in which a Railway Protection Force Assistant Sub-Inspector and three passengers were shot dead allegedly by an RPF constable near here on Monday, an official said. The senior Railway official said the committee, headed by Additional Director General (ADG) of the RPF, has five members and it has been asked to submit a report to the board in three weeks. The official, who did not wish to be named, said committee members are likely to land in Mumbai on late Monday night or Tuesday to probe the incident. On early Monday morning, an RPF constable shot dead his senior and three passengers in two bogies and a pantry car on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra, officials said. Constable Chetan Singh (34) killed RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and another passenger in B5 coach with his automatic weapon after 5 am. He then shot dead another passenger in the pantry car five coaches away and went on to kill one more passenger in S6 coach, which was the 8th bogie from the B5 coach, they said. He was nabbed with his weapon later while trying to flee after passengers pulled the chain of the train which stopped near Mira Road station (on the Mumbai suburban network) at around 6 am. Government Railway Police (GRP) commissioner Ravindra Shisve told the media the exact reason behind the incident was not known yet.