Despite huge crowd, one passenger was shot dead at Ranchi railway station early in the morning at around 4.30 am on Friday by some unidentified criminals as soon as he got down from Dumka-Ranchi Intercity Express. The assailants, however, managed to escape taking advantage of darkness through the back side of the station.
“The person who got killed has been identified as Premchand Kumar, who is said to be a teacher by profession in Deoghar. Three persons, who were waiting for him to get down from the train, caught hold of him and shot from point blank range,” said DSP (Rail) Ashfaque Ali. According to Ali, as soon as Kumar, said to be a middleman in the Army recruitment racket, got down from the train at platform number 4, two of the culprits caught him while the third one fired on his head and escaped walking out from the back side of the station which is all open. According to police, the mastermind behind the killing is said to be from lakhisarai in Bihar.
"Since, it was quite early in the morning; they managed to walk easily from the back side of the platform which is open due to the ongoing construction work at platform number 4," added the DSP. Kumar had been called by someone in Ranchi to pay back his money collected from about 12-13 persons in order to get them recruited in the Army. "He was to get about Rs 25-30 lakh collected from some 12-13 persons in order to get them recruited in the Indian Army. Since, they were not selected, the said money was to be returned to them and Kumar was pressurizing the persons here in Ranchi to return the money back to him," said the DSP.
"After his repeated insistence, the person called him to Ranchi and got him killed by his men," added the DSP. "The police have formed several teams to nab the culprits raids for which are on in different parts of Ranchi. Some mobile numbers possessed by the culprits have been identified which are also being tracked," he added.
The DSP admitting that platform number 4, being far away from the main gate is vulnerable to such crimes must be avoided in the morning. "Though, GRP constables are on the guard at the platforms round the clock, platform number 4-5 is sensitive, we have written to the authorities to avoid trains especially at odd hours," he said.
According to Station Manager HK Pandey, it is at his disposal to decide the platform on which a train is to be taken on, depending on the operational facility and availability of the platforms. "Though the train is nominated for platform number 4, it was parked there," said Pandey. Pandey said he has passed clear cut instructions to keep passengers amenity on priority basis.
Safety cannot be ensured to the passengers until the station is guarded by walls from all the sides. The railway authorities have already sent a proposal for raising a boundary wall on that side but due to financial hiccups it could not be passed so far. "As Ranchi railway station is completely opened from the back side, it also poses a threat to the parcel goods which are kept on the platforms," said the Manager. "A proposal to set up entry-exit gates on that side for the convenience of the passengers is also in the pipeline, which has become a hurdle for the boundary wall," added the Station Manager.