Ticket-less passenger kills guard, throws him off train

Rajkot: Investigation into death of a railway guard, whose body was found on tracks near Cherai in Bhachau taluka of Kutch on Thursday late night, revealed that the deceased was allegedly clubbed by a ticket-less passenger and thrown off the running train following an altercation.
The accused, identified as Anuj Kushwaha alias Ajay (22), was arrested late Thursday night.
According to case details, while the Bhuj-Dadar Express was pulling out of Gandhidham railway station, Shriprakash Gautam (58), the railway guard, saw Kushwaha running after the train and was making attempt to board it.
Being under the impression that Kushwaha had missed the train and was running desperately to board it, Gautam reached out his hand to Kushwaha and pulled him inside his coach.
“Once Kushwaha was inside the coach, Gautam started making inquiries about his destination and asked him for his ticket. When Kushwaha said he did not have the ticket, an altercation erupted between them, following which Kushwaha allegedly picked up a bat that was placed inside the guard’s coach and hit Gautam on the head. Then he threw Gautam off the running train,” said Arwind Vania, head constable with Railway Protection Force (RPF) Gandhidham.
After throwing Gautam off the train, Kushwaha shut the doors of the coach and hid inside. Meanwhile, the engine driver grew suspicious as the guard did not give signal even as train passed two railway crossings. He alerted the station master at Bhachau railway station.
When the train reached Bhachau, the ticket checker and Vania went to the guard’s coach for inspection. “We found the doors of the coach closed from inside. When we knocked it Kushwaha opened the door and attacked me with the same bat with which he had killed Gautam,” said Vania.
“Kushwaha jumped out of the coach and started running on the platform. However, he was caught by other passengers,” added Vania, who lodged a complaint against Kushwaha.
Kushwaha was charged with murder and preventing police officer from performing his duty and under Indian Railway Act. Kushwaha, a native of Madhya Pradesh, used to work as a labourer in a timber factory at Gandhidham.
It is worth noting that on the same railway route, ex-BJP MLA Jayanti Bhanushali was shot dead aboard Sayajinagari Express plying between Bhuj and Mumbai. He was shot between Bhachau and Samkhiyali stations on January 8 this year.