Unable to cope: The lack of a job may have driven Raj Rahul Singh to threaten passengers on a BEST bus with a loaded gun

What was Rahul Raj Singh's grouse? Why did he want to take a bus hostage? Did he act the way he did only because he wanted to kill Raj Thackeray? The police are trying to find answers to all these questions.

"We are probing all possible angles. There are chances that he was disturbed because he did not have a job.

However, the motive behind his act is not clear," said Police Commissioner Hasan Gaffoor. The police added Rahul was going through newspapers for walk-in interviews.

Rahul's father Kundan Singh told MiD DAY from Patna, "My son had not told many of his friends that he was going to Mumbai to find a job. He had lost touch with a lot of his friends after he completed his diploma." Raj eaned a diploma in Radiology and was also trained to operate CT scan and X-ray machines. He had plans to settle in Mumbai after getting a job in a hospital. He felt hospitals here pay more than the ones in Patna.

Frustrated

Though his father denies that his son was depressed, psychiatrists say his behaviour suggests that Raj was nearing a mental breakdown. "At his age, many youngsters lose touch with ground realities. Unfortunately for Raj, his frustrations culminated in such a series of events," said psychiatrist Y A Matcheswalla of Masina Hospital.

"The frightening thing is that earlier, you would only hear people talk about killing themselves. But here, we have an example of premeditated possible homicidal activity. This boy must have directed all his frustration at one thing, or in this case one individual," said Dr Kersi Chavda, vice president of the Bombay Psychiatry Society.