Youth Rahul Raj killed in Mumbai Bus firing

The violence triggered by the attacks on north Indians in Mumbai, allegedly by MNS activists, turned uglier on Monday morning when a Patna youth shot dead by police inside a bus in central Mumbai after he opened indiscriminate fire.The man fired at the police in Bail Bazaar area of Kurla and was shot in retaliatory fire," joint commissioner of police (crime), Rakesh Maria said.

According to police sources, the incident occurred around 09.45am near Chowkie No. 3 near Bail Bazaar in Kurla, Central Mumbai, inside BEST's double-decker bus number 332, which was going from Andheri to Kurla. According to police sources, the youth, later identified as 27-year-old Rahul Raj, had come to Mumbai from Patna two days ago.

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Sources said the youth tried to take the passengers hostage. There were two conductors on the bus — Shivaji Borde and Machhindra Ugale. A S Khan was the driver. Sources said Rahul was sitting on the first floor of the bus, when one of the two conductors approached him and asked him to buy a ticket. Police said that he tried to strangle a conductor with a steel chain. The driver then stopped the bus near a police chowkie and one of the conductors went to the police station and called the cops.

A head constable accompanied by another constable arrived. When they saw that the youth was carrying a countrymade revolver, more policemen were called. The cops made an announcement on a loudspeaker asking the youth to surrender. The youth however started firing and shouting slogans: Jai Bihar and Jai Patna.

He threw two currency notes from the bus. On one note he had written that he wanted to meet the police commissioner and on the other he wrote that he wanted to kill the MNS chief Raj Thackeray. According to sources, police too opened fire and Rahul suffered severe bullet injuries. He was taken to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, where he was pronounced dead. A passenger, Manoj Bhagat, was injured in the firing by the youth, police sources said, adding that he has been admitted to hospital. Analysts feel the police should have waited a bit longer before opening fire as there was nobody in the bus.

Sources said the Rahul’s father, Kundan Pratap Singh, teaches at Arvind Mahila College, Patna.

[timesofindia]