Train firing: Victim's relatives protest outside Mumbai civic hospital in support of demands

Constable Chetan Kumar Choudhary fired from his automatic weapon, killing an RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector (ASI) and three other passengers of the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am (Pic/Pradeep Dhivar)

Grieving relatives of Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48), one of the three passengers shot dead allegedly by a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable on board an express train near here on Monday morning, refused to accept his body and staged a protest outside a civic hospital in Mumbai in the evening.

Mohammad Amanullah Shaikh, younger brother of Asgar Sheikh, told PTI that they are not going to accept the body till the Railways announces a compensation, makes arrangements for carrying his body to Jaipur, where he was staying with his family, and the government assures a job for a kin.

In Photos: RPF constable shoots four dead on board Jaipur-Mumbai train

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He later said his brother's body has been shifted to J J Hospital in central Mumbai from civic-run Shatabdi Hospital in suburban Kandivali and they will continue the protest there.

The Western Railway (WR) tonight said it has digitally transferred Rs 10 lakh in the savings bank account of the victim's wife. The same amount has been paid to the family to another deceased, said WR chief spokesperson Sumit Thakur.

Constable Chetan Singh (34) shot dead his senior, RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena, and three passengers on board the moving Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express near Palghar railway station on Mumbai's outskirts early in the morning, officials said.

The reason behind the incident was not yet known.

The deceased passengers were identified as Abdul Kadarbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), a resident of Nalasopara in Palghar district, Asgar Abbas Sheikh (48), a resident of Madhubani in Bihar, and one Sadar Mohammed Hussain.

"He (Asgar Shaikh) has five children below the age of 12, but neither the Railways has announced any compensation for them nor assured a job for a family member. They have also not made any arrangements for taking his body to Jaipur," Mohammad Shaikh said as he tried to came to terms with the personal loss.

"We won't accept his body until our demands are accepted," he said, adding they learnt about the firing incident after the police contacted his relatives in Bihar, his native state.

Mohammad Shaikh, who works in a garment factory in Mumbai, said originally they are from Madhubani district of Bihar, but his brother had settled in Jaipur with his family.

According to Mohammad Shaikh, his brother was working in a factory manufacturing bangles in the Rajasthan capital, but due to some reason the facility shut about a month back and hence he was coming to Mumbai in search of a new job.

A Railway officer said Asgar Shaikh had boarded the train in Jaipur and was travelling in the S6 coach.

Another railway firing incident victim Abdul Bhanpurwala's relative Mufaddal Bhanpurwala said the former was returning to Mumbai from his native place Bhanpur in Rajasthan after observing Muharram there.

Mufaddal Bhanpurwala said Abdul Bhanpurwala's wife had gone to Dubai to see his sons, who are working in the Gulf city, whereas he had gone to his native place 10 days ago for Muharram.

According to him, they learnt about the incident on Monday morning after the wife of Abdul Bhanpurwala's brother received a call from a policeman.
The deceased's his wife and sons are on their way to Mumbai from Dubai.

Abdul Bhanpurwala, who was travelling in the B5 (three tier AC) coach of the train, had also worked in Dubai for many years and after returning from there, he had set up a business of diapers and operated a shop in Nalasopara, a distant suburb of Mumbai, his relative said.

The Railway officer said he had boarded the Mumbai-bound train from Bhawani Mandi station in Rajasthan.

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