Kerala train fire incident updates: In a major development to the Kerala train fire incident, a joint team of Central Intelligence and Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) Maharashtra nabbed the absconding suspect from Ratnagiri district on Wednesday. According to Ratnagiri police, the suspect has been identified as Shahrukh Saifi.
Speaking to the media, an official of Maharashtra informed that a team of Kerala police has reached Ratnagiri and the accused was handed over to the Special Investigative Team (SIT).
Earlier on Tuesday, the Alappuzha-Kannur executive train was halted at the Kannur Railway station, and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) inspected the train coaches.
What was the incident?
On April 3, at least three people were killed and several others sustained burn injuries after an unidentified person splashed an inflammable substance inside the compartment of a moving train and set it ablaze.
According to reports, the suspect had poured petrol on a passenger and set a fire inside the D1 compartment of the Alappuzha-Kannur Main Executive Express train near Elathur in Kozhikode district. One of the injured persons had informed that an unidentified assailant splashed an inflammable substance, seemingly petrol or kerosene, and set the train on fire.
The bodies of a woman, an infant, and a man, who went missing from the train after the fire, were recovered from the tracks near the Elathur railway station, late on Sunday night. Police believe they fell off the train or attempted to get down after seeing the fire.
The Suspect's sketch was prepared
Following the incident, Kerala Police had prepared a sketch of the suspect. The drawing was prepared at the Elathoor police station in Kozhikode with the help of Razak, a crucial witness in the case.
Meanwhile, the suspect's father claimed his son was at home for the past two months and had not gone to Kerala. He works as a carpenter in the district and has studied till class 10th, the suspect's father added.
