A Mumbai court on Tuesday ordered former Railway Protection Force constable Chetansinh Chaudhary, who shot dead three Muslim passengers and a senior officer in a train in 2023, to be referred to a mental health facility in Thane for a medical examination, PTI reported.

Additional Sessions Judge NL More issued the order after authorities at the Akola jail, where Chaudhary is currently lodged, told the court that he was suffering from a psychiatric illness. More directed the authorities to refer Chaudhary to the Regional Mental Hospital in Thane.

The former constable would be lodged in the Thane jail during his examination, the judge added.

Chaudhary had killed Assistant Sub Inspector Tikaram Meena and three Muslim passengers – Abdul Kaderbhai Bhanpurwala, Sadar Mohammed Hussain and Asghar Abbas Sheikh – on the Jaipur-Mumbai Central Superfast Express on July 31, 2023.

He was booked under the Indian Penal Code for murder as well as under the Arms Act. Later, the police added charges of kidnapping and promoting enmity on grounds of religion. He was also dismissed from the Railway Protection Force.

The Dindoshi Sessions Court in Mumbai began the trial in November.

During the proceedings, the Akola prison authorities told the court that Chaudhary was suffering from a mental illness, PTI reported. He needed to be shifted to a hospital in Nagpur for further treatment, they added.

In response, the prosecution said that it had no objection to Chaudhary’s treatment, adding that the former constable could be shifted to the Regional Mental Hospital in Thane for the convenience of the trial.

On Tuesday, More noted that the trial in the case had already begun and added that the prison authorities were finding it difficult to produce Chaudhary for the hearing from Akola. “The accused is not even produced through videoconferencing due to internet connectivity issues,” the judge said.

“Therefore, for the convenience of the jail authority and the accused, it is desirable that the accused be referred to a mental hospital in Thane for medical examination,” PTI quoted More as saying.

More directed the prison authorities to ensure that necessary security arrangements were made to transport the former constable from Akola to Thane.

Witnesses to the incident have said that the former constable walked through four coaches of the train to select his victims and asked them for their names before killing them.

After one of the Muslim victim’s body fell to the floor, Chaudhary had asked the rest of the passengers in the coach to record a video as he made a speech in which he hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath.

“If you want to vote, if you want to live in India, then I say Modi and Yogi, these are the two and your Thackeray,” he declared. It was not clear which member of the Thackeray family he was referring to.