Hours after a man allegedly set a co-passenger on fire inside a moving train in Kerala, the Police began the investigation in the case and confirmed the identity of the accused as Shahrook Saifi, a resident of Noida.
Saifi, the reports had claimed, had boarded boarded on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train in Kozhikode at around 9.45 pm on Sunday, April 2, to pour an ignitable liquid on a fellow passenger and set him on fire, causing at least eight people to sustain burn injuries, the police said.
According to the tweets shared by journalist Sachin Gupta and Assistant Editor IANS Atul Krishan, the probe led the police to a carpenter named Shahrook Saifi in UP’s Bulandshahr. A report by Dainik Bhasker confirmed that the man was taken into custody by the Uttar Pradesh ATS team from the Kasba Siyana region of the city.
Kerala train incident
— Atulkrishan (@iAtulKrishan) April 4, 2023
Accused Shahrukh Saifi who hurled chemical on 3 Co passengers which led to their death, held by UP ATS
He was hiding in Bulandsehar pic.twitter.com/RWQVo8aNrg
The Police searched the suspicious bag extensively to discover a phone which revealed that the age of the accused was around 25 and that he worked as a carpenter in Syana. The Kerala Police then contacted the Ghaziabad ATS team who plotted a plan to arrest the man. The team, dressed in disguise called him on the pretext of giving some furniture repairs job. Saifi was then taken into custody by the ATS team at around 7:15 pm on Monday evening.
Probe leads UP ATS to Bulandshahr
However, he was released by the police following his questioning. According to a police official, An officer, “The recovered phone led investigators to his address and teams were sent there. The man was taken for questioning on Monday night but it appears to have been a false lead. He was released the following morning.”
Indian Express spoke to the man’s family who claimed that he had never travelled beyond Delhi. Soon after releasing him, the police conducted searches in Noida and Ghaziabad, but have not found any concrete lead so far.
Reportedly, the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) four membered team on Monday visited the spot and inquired about the incident. The team suspects terror links to the incident. However, it has not officially taken over the investigation.
After the incident, the police found dead bodies of three persons, including a one-year-old child and a woman on the tracks near the Elathur railway station in Kozhikode. The Police also recovered a suspicious bag probably belonging to the accused. While NIA suspects terror angle in the case, the state police has revealed that the incident does not seem to be an act of terror.
Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said so on Monday that a Special Investigation Team (SIT) would be established to look into the train fire that claimed three lives, including a baby, the previous evening in the state’s Kozhikode district. The CM further said that the state government would take firm action to safeguard the safety of train passengers, and the Ministry of Railways will be asked to do all within its power to ensure safety of the passengers.
Also, Kerala Ports Minister Ahammed Devarkovil stated that an investigation is ongoing to learn more about any potential terrorist or Maoist connections to the case.“I spoke to the police , they are searching CCTV visuals. I am going there and will have a clear idea soon. Police suspects that a person believed to be around 25 years in age is suspected to have done this. Only after enquiry we can say if there is any terrorist or Maoist angle. It won’t be correct to say something like this openly before inquiry,” he said.
K Sudhakaran, the leader of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) and a member of parliament from Kannur, has written to Ashwini Vaishnaw, the union minister for railways, requesting his intervention in the matter and asking for compensation for those who were set ablaze on the train, including those who died in the incident.
