One of the victims in the Jaipur Express train shooting was identified on Tuesday, August 1 as Syed Saifuddin from Hyderabad. Saifuddin was a resident of Bazaar Guard near Nampally, which falls under the constituency of MP Asaduddin Owaisi. Saifuddin was targeted and attacked because his appearance indicated he was a Muslim, said his uncle Wajid Pasha.
On Monday, Chetan Singh, a gun-wielding jawan belonging to the Railway Protection Force, went on a shooting spree allegedly targeting Muslims in the Mumbai-bound Jaipur Express. Before going on a rampage, Chetan had killed his superior officer Tikaram Meena. Four people were killed in the attack.
Saifuddin is survived by three young daughters aged 6, 2.5, and the youngest being 6 months old.
“This is very wrong. Indeed it is a terror attack. My nephew is a devout Muslim who does namaz and sports a beard. His employer who was travelling with him has testified that the attacker asked my nephew’s name and then shot him. Is there any humanity left?” Pasha said.
Questioning the BJP’s slogan of Sab Ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas (With everyone and progress of everyone), Pasha said, “What kind of Sab ka Saath, Sab Ka Vikas is this?” and slammed the BJP-led Union government which faces allegations of being anti-Muslim.
Pasha said that the family was not willing to take the Rs 10 lakh compensation from the state government. “We are not ready to accept such an amount, it is no compensation for the lost life. My nephew has three young daughters. The family stays in a rented house and is extremely poor,” Pasha said. He demanded Rs 5 crore as compensation.
On behalf of Saifuddin’s family, Asaduddin Owaisi asked Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to support the bereaved family. “The fourth victim of the #JaipurExpressTerrorAttack has been identified as Syed Saifullah. He was a resident of Bazaarghat, Nampally. He is survived by 3 daughters, the youngest is just 6 months old. AIMIM Nampally MLA @Jaffarhusainmla is with the family for the past few hours & coordinating with officials to bring the deceased’s body to Hyderabad. Request @TelanganaCMO @KTRBRS to support the bereaved family in these tough times,” Owaisi said.
The fourth victim of the #JaipurExpressTerrorAttack has been identified as Syed Saifullah. He was a resident of Bazaarghat, Nampally. He is survived by 3 daughters, the youngest is just 6 months old. AIMIM Nampally MLA @Jaffarhusainmla is with the family for the past few hours &…
— Asaduddin Owaisi (@asadowaisi) August 1, 2023
Owaisi labelled the killings by the armed jawan a “terror attack.” After gunning down his superior officer Tikaram Meena, Chetan allegedly walked through the coaches to attack Muslims. Apart from Saifuddin, the other two victims –Asgar Abbas Ali (48) and Abdul Kadar Mohamed Hussain Bhanpurwala (64) – were Muslims too.
A video of Chetan standing next to a passenger he had allegedly shot has also surfaced, in which he is heard speaking incoherently, purportedly about Pakistan and Indian media and suggesting that those who want to live in ‘Hindustan’ must support Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. Police officials are reportedly trying to verify the authenticity of these videos that were purportedly shot by fellow passengers.
After allegedly shooting Tikaram and the first passenger, Abdul Kadar who was also in the same bogie (B5), Chetan then went to other four coaches (B4 to B1) without hurting anyone and entered the pantry car, where he allegedly shot dead another passenger, according to PTI. The shootings happened as the train was speeding between Vaitarna station (Palghar) and Mira Road (Thane), reportedly between 5 and 5.30 am on Monday.
Owaisi had blamed the Modi-led Union government for not acting strongly in cases of anti-Muslim hate speeches in the past. “It is the product of continuous anti-Muslim hate speech & unwillingness of [PM] Narendra Modi 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,” Owaisi had said.