The Government Railway Police (GRP) arrested Rohit Tiwari, a native of Bhojpur in Bihar , on Wednesday for allegedly killing two passengers in separate incidents involving moving trains on the Ara-DDU railway section, a senior police officer said.
Tiwari was arrested from the Bihar-Uttar Pradesh border by a special team led by Danapur Railway DSP Kanchan Raj. Police are also investigating his possible role in other murders after he allegedly made contradictory statements during his initial interrogation. He allegedly demanded money from passengers on the pretext of checking tickets or imposing fines for smoking on trains, and assaulted those who refused to pay. Tiwari allegedly demanded money from labourers and underage passengers on the pretext of imposing fines for smoking inside the train. When some passengers refused to pay, Tiwari allegedly assaulted them and threw Nitin from the moving train between Ara and Jagjivan Halt. Police recovered Nitin’s body, but his family was initially unaware of his death. He also allegedly threatened to send Nitin to jail. In the recent incident, the accused allegedly fled with Nitin’s debit card, ATM cards, PAN card, voter ID card and disability card.
The arrest follows the alleged murder of Nitin Kumar, 21, a migrant labourer travelling on train 07091 Special from Telangana on September 19, and the death of Kailash Kumar, who was found dead on the railway tracks near Neora Halt between Bihta and Danapur railway stations on September 9. Preliminary investigations revealed that Tiwari allegedly killed Nitin on September 19 after a scuffle with him over his refusal to pay a ‘fine’. Tiwari allegedly contacted the family using Nitin’s mobile phone and demanded ₹ 17,000, claiming that Nitin had been arrested for smoking on the train and that the money was required to release him.
Tiwari used to target minors, labourers and drug-addicted passengers travelling in the disabled compartment of trains, posing as an STF or RPF personnel, according to police. Nitin’s body was found with his hands tied with ropes, police said. Police said Nitin, a resident of Vaishali, was travelling in the compartment meant for persons with disabilities when he was accosted by Tiwari, who was allegedly posing as an RPF personnel. Financial gain was the primary motive behind the alleged murders, according to police.
“The family gave ₹ 17,000 in separate instalments through online transfers, but even after this, Nitin did not reach home.
His father, Sriraj Kumar Rai, registered an FIR with the Buxar GRP on charges of abduction,” a police officer said, adding that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was promptly formed on the directive of the ADG (Rail) to crack the case.
