Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, who allegedly went on a rampage on a moving train and shot dead four people in July 2023, reportedly forced a woman passenger wearing a burqa to chant “Jai Mata Di” at gunpoint, a court in Mumbai was told on Monday, reported news agency PTI.

After chanting the religious invocation, the woman grabbed Chaudhary’s rifle and moved it away from her, the court was further informed.

The 38-year-old witness appeared before Additional Sessions Judge YB Pathan and recounted the sequence of events involving the then RPF constable, reported PTI.

Chaudhary allegedly gunned down his senior colleague and assistant sub-inspector Tikaram Meena, along with three passengers aboard the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express near Palghar railway station in Maharashtra on July 31, two years ago. He was apprehended near the railway tracks after the incident and has been in jail since.

The woman told the court that she was travelling with her two children on the day of the incident. She had woken up at 5.30 am and was wearing shoes to go to the washroom when she saw a man in a police uniform walking into the train compartment.

“He pointed his rifle at me and said in Hindi, ‘If you want to stay in this country, you will have to say Jai Mata Di,’” the witness said.

She complied and uttered the invocation in a low voice. However, the accused allegedly told her to repeat it loudly and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t obey, reported PTI.

At this point, the woman grabbed the rifle pointed at her, raised it upwards, and questioned the man’s identity. The constable warned her not to touch the rifle or he would shoot her.

Scared, she released the gun, and he walked away, she testified during examination by Additional Public Prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale.

During cross-examination by defence lawyer Jaywant Patil, the woman maintained that she was not lying about the incident and said that the accused targeted her because she was wearing a burqa. She identified Chaudhary, who appeared before the court via video conferencing.

(With PTI inputs)

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