MUMBAI – A constable with India’s Railway Protection Force (RPF) was arrested on Monday after he shot dead four Muslim men, including his own senior, on a moving train near Mumbai.
Officials said that accused Chetan Kumar killed a senior RPF official and three passengers.
They said they are investigating his motive.
RPF personnel are tasked with the protection of railway passengers and property in India.
The shooting took place around 05:30 local time (midnight GMT) on a train travelling from Jaipur in the western state of Rajasthan towards Mumbai city in Maharashtra.
Kumar first opened fire on Tikaram Meena, an assistant sub-inspector with the RPF, before shooting three other passengers, according to an RPF statement.
The incident occurred just after the train passed the town of Palghar, around 96km (60 miles) from the state capital, Mumbai. Kumar then pulled the in-house alarm chain – used to stop trains in case of emergencies – and tried to escape, according to a statement from the Western Railways. He was arrested in the outskirts of Mumbai.
“The incident is very sad,” Neeraj Verma, general manager of Western Railways, told reporters. “We have not received any information about any argument between the RPF constable and the assistant sub-inspector.”
