Mumbai, March 25 On Wednesday, the prosecution examined a police officer who had informed his superior about a viral video purportedly showing former RPF constable Chetansingh Chaudhary, the accused in the 2023 railway firing incident.
Chaudhary (34) is accused of shooting dead his senior colleague, Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena, and three Muslim passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express near Palghar station in Maharashtra on July 31, 2023. He was arrested while trying to flee after some passengers pulled the emergency lever.
In the video, Chaudhary is seen making a speech laced with communal sentiments and threatening one of the victims.
The video, filmed by onlookers, went viral on social media after the incident.
The 30-year-old witness, who is himself a Government Railway Police constable, appeared before the Dindoshi sessions court on Wednesday and confirmed that he had handed over the video to a senior officer.
An IPC section related to "promoting enmity between different groups" was added to the case against Chaudhary based on this video.
The witness, examined by public prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale in the court of additional sessions judge Pravin Vimalnath Chatur, said that he was at home on the day of the incident and received the viral video clip via WhatsApp.
"I downloaded the video and showed it to my superior. The senior officer downloaded the video from my mobile on a laptop using a data cable, and then copied it onto a USB drive, in the presence of witnesses," the GRP personnel said.
Speaking about the contents of the video, he said that Chaudhary was heard commenting about Pakistan and making communal remarks, as a person is seen lying on the floor of the train compartment.
Chaudhary was heard saying, "If you want to vote and live in India, I say it's only Modi and Yogi... and your Thackeray," the witness added.
Later, the witness learned that the person lying on the floor was Asgar Abbas Ali Shaikh, one of the victims.
He also identified Chaudhary, who was produced from prison via video conference, as the person in the video.