NEW DELHI – The “politics of hate” and communal polarisation in India is being blamed for Monday’s four murders on a moving train by a policeman armed with an automatic rifle.
The shooting suspect has been identified as 34-year-old Chetan Singh, a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable hailing from the northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
Singh killed his senior colleague Tika Ram Meena, an assistant sub inspector (ASI), then murdered three passengers.
The passengers travelling on the train from Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan towards Mumbai city in Maharashtra state were identified as Abdul Kadarbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala, Asgar Abbas Sheikh and Sadar Mohammed Hussain, according to local media reports.
In a video of the incident circulating on social media, the policeman is heard making Hindu nationalist statements.
“The cold-blooded murders carried out by a RPF constable is the result of an hyper-charged and highly polarised news media and social media atmosphere. The genie of hate is now out of the bottle and it will take a lot of collective effort to put it back in,” said Jairam Ramesh, a spokesman of the Congress party.
“This is a terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims,” said Asaduddin Owaisi, president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) party.
He called the train attack a result of hate speeches being made by Hindu nationalist leaders in the country.
The policeman wearing a khaki uniform is heard in the viral video making political statements as one of the victims lies bloodied on the floor.
According to an RPF statement quoted in the media, the policeman shot his three victims in two different coaches and the pantry car.
“He had a short fuse, he was quite hot-headed. There was no altercation. He just lost his temper and shot his senior, then fired at whoever he saw,” Praveen Sinha, an inspector general of RPF, told the media.
The constable was on a duty to provide security to the train.
Social media commentators questioned the police version, asking how a “hot-headed” man went around in an apparent cold-blooded manner looking for his victims. – Bernama
