Train passengers killed by RPF constable: Owaisi terms it terror attack targeted at Muslims'

Hyderabad: AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Monday termed the gruesome incident in which a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable shot dead four persons on a train in Maharashtra as a "terror attack targeted at Muslims", and said it is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech and the "unwillingness" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to put an end to it.

The constable fired from his automatic weapon, killing a senior RPF colleague and three passengers aboard the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Express shortly after 5 am on Monday, according to officials.

Constable Chetan Singh (34) shot dead RPF Assistant Sub-Inspector Tika Ram Meena and passengers Abdul Qadirbhai Mohammed Hussain Bhanpurwala (48), Akhtar Abbas Ali (48), and Sadar Mohammed Hussain.

"This is a terror attack that specifically targeted Muslims. It is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech & unwillingness of @narendramodi to put an end to it. Will the accused #RPFJawan become a future BJP candidate? Will his bail be supported by the govt? Will he be garlanded when released? Happy to be proven wrong #JaipurMumbaiExpress," Owaisi tweeted referring to a video by another person circulating on Twitter.

GRP commissioner Ravindra Shisve spoke to reporters in Mumbai, and when asked about a video purportedly showing the accused constable being present near the dead bodies and apparently justifying the killings, said the video clip is being examined along with other materials.

"It is too early to jump to any conclusion, and at this stage it will be premature to comment anything and share any details about the probe," Shisve said, adding that police will investigate and examine whatever material they get.

"This is the first-of-its-kind of the incident on a running train. Passengers are scared. We want to assure them that police will investigate the incident in detail," he added.

Inputs from PTI