The railways on Wednesday said that no mental ailment was detected in the last periodic medical examination of Chetan Singh, the RPF constable accused of the train killings, but withdrew the statement within hours.

Following media reports that the constable suffered from “abnormal hallucinations” and was diagnosed with serious anxiety disorder, the railway ministry had said in a statement: “In this regard, it is stated that there is a system of Periodical Medical Examination (PME) of Railway Protection Force constables, and in the last PME, no such medical ailment/ condition was detected,” it said.

In the evening, the statement was withdrawn.“The press release has been withdrawn,” a railway spokesperson said without elaborating.

On Monday, an unverified video featuring a purported murder site on the train had shown a man in uniform, his back to the camera, saying in Hindi: “If you want to vote, if you want to live in Hindustan, then I am saying Modi and Yogi, they are the two, and your Thackeray.”

An earlier PTI report had quoted the railway statement as also saying: “The treatment for the present medical ailment would have been taken on his personal level by Chetan Singh, and is not in his official records. He and his family have kept it a secret. The matter is under investigation with GRP, Borivali (in Mumbai).”