CST station announcer alerted police and people about the firing

When two gunmen entered the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) on Wednesday night and started firing indiscriminately at the people, VD Zhende, the announcer at the station kept his cool. Without even wasting a single moment, he started making announcements alerting people and cops about the firing.

The gunmen entered the CST station’s long distance train section. “They started firing indiscriminately and headed to platform no 13 and first hurled a grenade. The duo also started firing indiscriminately killing several people,” said a Government Railway Police official.

“They also shot at one Railway Protection Force (RPF) constable. The moment I saw people dragging the RPF man and heard people shouting, I started alerting people asking them to vacate the station from platform no 1,” said Zhende who was at the CST station during the complete operation. “I was also scared of gunshots outside.”

“He was also constantly alerting the GRP and the RPF, and informed them about the firing. In such circumstances, he did not panic, but did his job effectively. The casualties certainly reduced due to his presence of mind,” said Sriniwas Mudgerikar, chief spokesperson of CR. Zhende, a resident of Nalasopara, has been working with the CR for the past 18 years and was posted at the CST some five years ago.

The RPF and GRP by then had taken over the railway station. But, by then, 54 people had died in the firing, including Shashank Shinde, police inspector of the CST railway police station. “We have lost a good officer,” said Vasant Koregaonkar, DCP from the CR. The CR also lost four of its employees in the firing, including an RPF constable. Seven railway employees were reportedly injured and were admitted at the Dr BR Amdbekar Hospital.

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