Officials said the suspect in the Kerala train attack case, who was apprehended by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad in Raratnigiri, was brought to the Armed Reserve Camp police station in Maloorkunnu, Kozhikode, on Thursday. The investigation team’s vehicles, in which Shahrukh Saifi was being transported, broke down twice during the journey, according to officials. The first vehicle broke down around 3.55 a.m. near the Edakkad police station. The Edakadu police arrived 45 minutes later and secured the vehicle. In the meantime, another police vehicle was arranged to continue the journey, but it too developed a problem and failed to start. Around 4.45 a.m., the accused was driven to Kozhikode in a private car. Saifi, who is accused of sprinkling an inflammable liquid on a fellow passenger on the Alappuzha Kannur Executive Express on the night of April 2, was apprehended on Wednesday in Ratnagiri by the Marharashtra ATS with the assistance of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
The arrest was made based on information provided by an eyewitness and a sketch released by the Kerala Police. According to Maharashtra Police, the accused has confessed to the crime. Saifi, 27, is a resident of the Shaheen Bagh in Delhi’s Jamia Nagar. A team from Kerala Police reached Delhi on Wednesday and visited Saifi’s home in the Shaheen Bagh area, Delhi Police said.
Maharashtra Police said that Saifi sustained severe injuries as he attempted to jump out from a train in Ratnagiri’s Khed area.
“He is severely injured, he was injured when he was travelling in another train and jumped down the train at Khed area in Ratnagiri. Some locals found him and rushed him to a nearby hospital in Ratnagiri. Police received information after which they detained him,” Maharashtra Police said.
The suspected perpetrator had been absconding after the April 2 incident on the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train. According to officials, the man set fire to a passenger allegedly after an argument.
At least eight passengers on the train sustained burn injuries in the fire. Three persons who sustained burns in the fire were admitted to a nearby private hospital and five persons were admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College. At least three of the injured are women. According to one of the injured, the unidentified assailant sprayed a flammable substance, possibly petrol or kerosene, on his fellow passenger, causing the fire to spread to other seats and luggage, engulfing the coach in flames.
Three people, including a child and a woman, were discovered dead on the tracks near Elathur railway station hours after the incident, according to police.