A year on, Jaipur Express shootout survivors count the costs

MUMBAI: The first time Shyamji Satra saw a person being killed was when Chetan Chaudhary, then a Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable, gunned down his superior Tikaram Meena and another passenger on board the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31, 2023.

“I kept thinking, what if I was standing near the exit at the time. I couldn’t eat for days,” said Satra, the memory fresh in his mind despite the passage of a year.

Like Satra, other passengers on board the Jaipur Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31, 2023, who saw Chaudhary gun down three passengers and a senior policeman in cold blood, were scarred for life. Most avoided train journeys for weeks, if not months; some were unable to place their trust in the police again; and yet others failed to overcome the guilt of having seen their loved ones die before their own eyes.

Jaffar Khan, a shop owner, was travelling on board with his employer Sayed Saifuddin, 43, when Chaudhary kidnapped the latter at gun point and brutally executed him in the pantry car. Khan, his family members say, has not been able to forget the fateful day till now.

“Every five to six days, Jaffar remembers the incident and regrets it. We have to console and pacify him saying death is inevitable,” said Ismail Khan, his brother.

Jaffar Khan also avoided travelling by train for nearly one year till he left for Hyderabad for his treatment a few days ago, Ismail added. “He has taken a train for the first time since the incident and we are praying for his safe return,” he said.

Sneha Vishwakarma, who works with a private firm and was returning from a pilgrimage in coach S6 on July 31 last year, saw Chaudhary pump two bullets into Azgar Ali, a fellow passenger.

“No matter how hard I try, I will never forget Chaudhary’s face, his eyes filled with anger and bloodlust, with Ali withering at his feet. His trousers had bloodstains on them, and the sight made me vomit,” said Vishwakarma. She also refrained from travelling by train for several months and has been unable to trust policemen since.

“After the incident, I did not travel by train for six months. After recording my statement, when the police officer offered me a lift to my house, I declined as I no longer feel safe with policemen,” she noted.

Vishwakarma was even more shocked when an RPF personnel who visited their compartment after the shootout told them to raise their hands and surrender in case Chaudhary returned.

“The policeman just asked us to surrender and die, but no one came forward to save the victims,” she recalled, adding that she makes it a point to thank God every month for keeping her alive.

Shock and trauma

Ajay Prakash, a Navy officer travelling in coach B5 who had informed the Railway helpline about the shootout, said even though he is trained for such situations, he felt helpless at that moment.

“People were crying, scared to death. All I could think of was their safety. So I ordered the pantry worker to shut the door as soon as Chaudhary the compartment to ensure he did not come back,” said Prakash. “I don’t know the reason behind the shooting, but was appalled at seeing a uniformed man kill innocent civilians,” he said.

While most witnesses and survivors have the memory etched in their minds, some have tried to deal with the trauma by refraining from talking about it at all. Among them is Mohammed Kasliwal, husband of the burka clad woman who was held at gunpoint – he did not “want to recollect that incident,” he said.

Dr Milan Balkrishnan, psychiatrist from Bombay Hospital, said emotional or physical responses are common around the anniversary date of a traumatic event. The development of post traumatic stress disorder after trauma, the doctor said, varies due to a combination of factors such as the genetic makeup of individuals, differences in brain structure and function particularly in the amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex, history of prior trauma, post-trauma environment including social support, and presence of additional stressors.

Meanwhile, Chaudhary’s lawyer Jaywant Patil said even though a year has passed since the incident, neither have charges been framed by police nor has a special public prosecutor been appointed by the state.

“We moved the court several times to get Chaudhary transferred from Akola to Thane jail, but our pleas were rejected due to security issues. We are now waiting keenly for the charges to be framed against him,” said Patil.

*Names of all survivors/ witnesses have been changed to protect their identities