Mumbai, Mar 25 The prosecution on Wednesday examined a police personnel who had brought to his superior's notice 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 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 chain.
In the video, Chaudhary is seen making a communally charged speech and threatening one of the victims.
The video, filmed by onlookers, had gone viral on social media after the incident.
The 30-year-old witness, a Government Railway Police constable himself, 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 'promotion of enmity between different groups' was added to the case against Chaudhary on the basis of 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, through a data cable, and then copied it on a pendrive, in the presence of panchas (official witnesses)," the GRP personnel said.
Speaking about the contents of the video, he said the accused 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 learnt 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 through video conference, as the person in the video.
