Kerala train fire accused arrested from Maharashtra
The accused had set a co-passenger on fire inside the D1 compartment of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train on Sunday.
The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police and Central Intelligence on Wednesday nabbed a man suspected of starting fire on a Kerala train that killed three people. The absconding accused, identified as Shahrukh Saifi, was nabbed from Ratnagiri railway station.
According to the Maharashtra ATS, he will be handed over soon to a team of Kerala cops and is expected to be brought to Kochi by evening.
In a statement to ANI, Kerala DGP Anil Kant confirmed that Saifi has been taken into custody. “After a detailed interrogation of the accused, we will be able to know more details,” he added.
Saifi, who hails from Delhi's Shaheen Bagh, was reported missing from his house on March 30. His parents had filed a missing person's complaint on Saturday. His plans to escape to Gujarat was foiled as the burn injuries on his face aggravated and Saifi was forced to get down in Maharashtra, a senior officer said.
He had allegedly poured petrol on a co-passenger, injuring several others, inside the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express on Sunday after the train left Kozhikode railway station. At least three of the injured are women.
Kerala Police had prepared a sketch of the suspect with the help of Razak, an eyewitness.
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Reacting to the arrest, railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, told ANI, “The person who committed this heinous crime has been apprehended in Ratnagiri of Maharashtra. I thank the Maharashtra govt, their police and RPF & NIA who have apprehended him this quickly.”
Earlier, the SIT formed by the Kerala Police conducted a forensic examination inside the coaches and collected evidence. The bodies of a woman, an infant, and a man were recovered from the tracks near the Elathur railway station, late on Sunday night.
The incident occurred around 9.45 PM on Sunday when the train reached the Korapuzha railway bridge. The accused is suspected to have escaped when the train slowed down after someone pulled the emergency chain.
HT earlier reported that police had suspected it to be a well-planned and executed criminal act. “The location on the bridge was chosen to inflict maximum damage. In Elathur, a big reservoir of fuel is also near the railway tracks. We are not ruling out a possible terror angle at this juncture,” an officer, who did not want to be named, told HT.
