Muslim youth arrested for putting fire on passengers in Alappuzha-Kannur Express, causing 3 dead, and several injured.

Shahrukh Saifi confessed to igniting a fire in running Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express: Maharashtra ATS.

Deadly train attack by pouring inflammable on passengers leaves three dead including a child; several injured in Kozhikode, Kerala. Investigating agencies trying to find Jihadi angle….. 

Upendra Bharti | HENB | New Delhi | April 5, 2023:: Shahrukh Saifi, the accused in the Kozhikode train fire case has confessed to the crime, the Maharashtra ATS said. The accused was nabbed from Ratnagiri on Tuesday night in a joint operation by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of the Maharashtra Police and Central Intelligence Agencies. The ATS, in a press release, stated that he confessed to the crime during subsequent interrogation.

He sought treatment at Ratnagiri District Hospital on Tuesday. The Indian Express, quoting police sources, reported that he left the hospital in fear of police. He was later arrested by the Maharashtra ATS and Ratnagiri police from Ratnagiri railway station. A PAN card, an Aadhaar card, a Motorola mobile phone and an ATM card were recovered from the accused.

The Special Investigation Team of the Kerala Police formed to probe the arson case, has returned to Kerala with Shahrukh Saifi after taking him into custody. The accused was handed over to the Kerala Police on Wednesday afternoon. Saifi was produced in a local court after a medical examination. Before this, the NIA (National Investigation Agency) and Maharashtra ATS interrogated him.

The investing agencies are yet to find the motive of such attacks and probe into the Jihadi angle if any. A source confirmed that while all the deceased and injured victims were identified as non-Muslims, the culprit was identified as a Muslim.

In the bizarre incident, three persons were killed including a child and several others sustained burn injuries after an unidentified person splashed an inflammable substance (Kerosene or Petrol or some liquid) inside the compartment and set it ablaze in that moving train when it reached Elathur Korapuzha bridge in Kozhikode around 9.30pm on Sunday. The incident happened in the D1 compartment of the Alappuzha-Kannur Express. Afterward, the culprit was identified as Shahrukh Saifi and caught by the Maharashtra ATS and Ratnagiri police from Ratnagiri railway station in Maharashtra.

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__Inputs from mathrubhumi | ANI | TOI | Manorama News.