Kozhikode train fire suspect nabbed by ATS from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri

In a massive development, the main suspect in the Kozhikode train fire incident has been arrested by police from Maharashtra's Ratnagiri town. 

A joint team of Central Intelligence and Maharashtra Anti-Terror Squad (ATS) on Wednesday tracked down the absconding accused Shahrukh Saifi and nabbed him. The accused was arrested at Ratnagiri Railway station where he was taking treatment at a civil hospital in Ratnagiri. He had injuries on his head.

As per the reports, the accused was apprehended after his cell phone was retrieved from a bag found at the crime scene onboard the train that had caught fire in Kozhikode. The sim card attached to his name is how the police tracked him. 

A team of Kerala police has also reached Ratnagiri and Shahrukh Saifi will be handed over to them soon, confirmed Maharashtra police. He will be brought back to Kerala and will be presented in either Kozhikode or Kannur court today. The police will now probe whether he is linked to some terror organisation and if it is confirmed then the National Investigation Agency (NIA) might take over the case.

#BREAKING | Big development in Kerala train attack case as Kozihikode train fire accused arrested by Maharashtra ATS; accused to be handed over to Kerala police.#KozhikodeTrainAttack#KozhikodeTrainFire #Kerala #Kozhikodehttps://t.co/ge3J2OVybC pic.twitter.com/2KjN9FgZqR

— Republic (@republic)

The suspect had poured petrol on passenger his co-passengers and set them on fire inside the D1 compartment of the Alappuzha-Kannur main executive express train near Elathoor in Kozhikode district. This led to the death of three persons and caused injuries to nine others the previous night.

Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw responded to the Kozhikode train fire case where he said, "The main suspect of the crime has been apprehended in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. I thank the Maharashtra government, their police, Railway Protection Force and all the people connected to this case including NIA who rapidly and very quickly arrested this person.  

#WATCH | Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Kozhikode train fire case suspect nabbed by police in Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/FuhPmjvnN9

— ANI (@ANI)

How the incident unfolded? 

According to the police officials, the incident took place on Sunday at around 9:45 pm, when the express train reached the Korapuzha railway bridge. During that time, the accused poured an inflammable liquid on a co-passenger and set him on fire. The incident led to burn injuries to eight other passengers. 

The accused escaped after passengers pulled down the emergency chain and the train slowed down. The passengers immediately alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and doused the fire. Subsequently, Kerala Police came across three bodies on the railway track which was near the spot where the incident happen. It's believed that they attempted to get off the train after seeing the fire. All three, including a woman, a child and a middle-aged man, had no burn injuries. 

KPCC president and MP from Kannur, K Sudhakaran has also written to Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw seeking his intervention into the matter. He also asked him to give compensation to the victims who were set ablaze on a train including those who died in the incident.