Passengers Set Ablaze in Kerala Train: Prime Accused Nabbed from Maharashtra

Mumbai: The prime accused of the Kerala train arson incident in which three persons were burnt alive, was nabbed from the Ratnagiri area of Maharashtra during a joint operation by Maharashtra police and central intelligence. Nine persons were also injured in this fire incident. The accused identified as Sharukh Saifi was nabbed from Ratnagiri Railway Station on the intervening night of April 4 and 5.

The accused had escaped after setting co-passengers on fire in the Alapuzha-Kannur Express train in Kozhikode. On Tuesday, his location was traced to Ratnagiri, when he visited Ratnagiri civil hospital for treatment of his injuries caused by the fall while escaping from the train he had targeted. He was later tracked down at Ratnagiri railway station.

The incident occurred inside the D1 compartment of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train on Sunday (April 2) night at around 10 pm. The accused poured some inflammable liquid on the victims and set them on fire following a heated argument. Three bodies were found on the railway track at a distance of 100m from where the incident occurred. All of them were from a single family. It is believed that they may have jumped out of the moving train after suffering severe burn injuries.

The deceased included a one-year-old child and a woman. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to probe the incident. A murder case was registered against the arsonist and a manhunt was launched. Kerala DGP Anil Kant said a terror angle could not be ruled out in the case.