Muslim woman says RPF constable who killed 4 on train forced her to chant 'Jai Mata Di' at gunpoint
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A Muslim woman witness told a local court that Railway Protection Force constable Chetansinh Chaudhary forced her to chant “Jai Mata Di” at gunpoint because she was wearing a burqa, as he went on a rampage aboard the Jaipur–Mumbai Central Superfast Express in July 2023 and killed three Muslim men and a colleague from the tribal community.
The woman, who travelled with her two children during the incident, appeared before Additional Sessions Judge Y.B. Pathan and recounted how the armed constable entered her coach in uniform and singled her out based on her attire, while threatening to shoot her if she did not loudly repeat the religious invocation.
She told the court that she initially complied in a low voice, but when the accused pressed her further and aimed his rifle at her, she attempted to push the weapon upwards in resistance, although she released it quickly after he warned her against touching it.
According to her testimony, Chaudhary brandished his automatic service rifle as he moved through the train and issued threats to passengers, while she remained in fear for her life and that of her children. During cross-examination, she maintained that she was not fabricating the account and insisted that the constable had deliberately targeted her because she wore a burqa, which made her identity as a Muslim woman visible.
The testimony came as the court continued hearing the case against Chaudhary, who was accused of firing 12 rounds from his service weapon near Palghar in Maharashtra, where he allegedly shot dead his senior colleague, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tikaram Meena, and three Muslim passengers identified as Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, Sadar Mohammed Hussain, and Asghar Abbas Sheikh.
Witnesses earlier told the court that Chaudhary walked through four coaches of the train to identify his victims and selected them after demanding their names, before killing them in what prosecutors have described as a communal attack.
The woman identified the accused in court while being examined by Additional Public Prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale and faced questions from defence lawyer Jaywant Patil, as the proceedings sought to establish the circumstances in which the killings took place. Her account added to the prosecution’s argument that the former constable acted with religious animosity and used intimidation against passengers beyond those he ultimately killed.
Chaudhary, who was captured near the railway tracks after the rampage, has remained in custody since his arrest, and the charges against him were expanded beyond murder under the Indian Penal Code and the Arms Act to include kidnapping and promoting enmity on grounds of religion.