A Mumbai court on Tuesday ordered former Railway Protection Force constable Chetan Singh Chaudhary, who shot dead three Muslim passengers and a senior officer from a tribal community on a train in 2023, to be sent to a mental health facility in Thane for medical examination.
Additional Sessions Judge NL More issued the order after authorities at the Akola jail, where Chaudhary is currently lodged, told the court that he was suffering from a psychiatric illness. According to PTI news agency, the judge directed the officers to refer Chaudhary to the Regional Mental Hospital in Thane. The judge added that the former constable would be lodged in the Thane jail during his examination.
Chetan Singh Chaudhary had killed Assistant Sub Inspector Tikaram Meena and three Muslim passengers â Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, Sadar Mohammed Hussain and Asghar Abbas Sheikh â on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31, 2023.
Following the shooting, a video posted on social media and verified by  Maktoob showed Chaudhary holding a rifle and standing next to the blood-soaked body of a bearded Muslim man.Chaudhary in the video is then heard saying: âThey were being operated from Pakistan and our media is giving [them] coverage. They are all aware. But I am telling you, if you want to live and vote in Hindustan [India] â it is only [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi and [Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath] Yogi, these are the only two names.â
Witnesses to the incident have said that the former constable walked through four coaches of the train to select his victims and asked them for their names before killing them.
Chaudhary was booked under the Indian Penal Code for murder as well as under the Arms Act. Later, the police added charges of kidnapping and promoting enmity on grounds of religion. He was also dismissed from the Railway Protection Force.
During the trial proceedings, the Akola prison authorities told the court that Chaudhary was suffering from a mental illness, PTI reported. He needed to be shifted to a hospital in Nagpur for further treatment, they added. In response, the prosecution said that it had no objection to Chaudharyâs treatment, adding that Chaudhary could be shifted to the Regional Mental Hospital in Thane for the convenience of the trial.