08 December,2025 09:16 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Chetan Singh Chaudhary is accused of killing Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express. File Pic/PTI
The police on Monday opposed the bail plea of former Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable Chetan Singh Chaudhary, who is accused of shooting dead his senior colleague and three passengers on a moving train in July 2023, reported the PTI.
The prosecution told the court that the case is extremely serious and could attract the death penalty, making bail inappropriate at this stage.
In a written response filed by Additional Public Prosecutor Sudhir Sapkale, the police said that key witnesses were currently being examined and that there was already substantial evidence on record against Chaudhary. Granting bail now, they argued, would seriously harm the prosecution's case, according to the PTI.
Chaudhary is accused of killing Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and three passengers on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express near Palghar on July 31, 2023.
In his bail application, filed through advocates Amit Mishra and Pankaj Ghildiyal, Chaudhary claimed he was suffering from "white matter disease", a condition that affects the brain's white matter, as per the PTI.
His lawyers argued he experiences severe mental episodes, delusions and confusion, and therefore had no awareness of his actions at the time of the incident.
The prosecution, however, dismissed his health claims, saying they were not convincing and could not be considered at this stage.
Meanwhile, the wife of one of the victims sought the court's permission to be heard during the bail hearing. Her intervention plea, filed through advocates Karim Pathan and Fazlurrahman Shaikh, said there was direct evidence against Chaudhary, including eyewitness accounts and recovery of the weapon and cartridges. She argued that granting bail would allow the accused to tamper with evidence, the news agency reported.
On Monday, an RPF constable who helped arrest Chaudhary testified in court. He told the judge that when he first saw Chaudhary walking on the tracks between Mira Road and Dahisar, the accused threatened to shoot him, reported the PTI.
The witness said he confronted Chaudhary, asking why he had left the train, but received no reply. Instead, Chaudhary "stared at me and said, âDon't come in my way or follow me, otherwise I will shoot you.'" Fearing for his life, the constable stepped aside but continued to follow him from a distance. Chaudhary was later caught on a foot-over bridge at Mira Road station, as per the PTI.
(with PTI inputs)
