Kozhikode: The Kozhikode police have intensified the search for the man who is suspect to have set fire on a co-passenger in Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express on Sunday night. According to reports, the police are also probing the Maoist links of the person.

Three people, including a woman and an infant, were found dead on the railway track following the incident. The deceased are Mattannur natives Rahmath, her sister's daughter Sahara (2) and Soufeeq.

Nine passengers were injured after the accused poured an inflammable liquid on a co-passenger and set him on fire.

The police have examined the CCTV visuals of the nearby places and recovered the visuals of the suspect. In the footage, he is seen riding a bike. Police suspect the attack to be a pre-planned one.

The incident took place around 9.45 pm on Sunday, when the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train reached the Korapuzha railway bridge here after crossing Kozhikode city. After pouring liquid on a co-passenger, the man escaped from the spot, while the injured were shifted to hospitals after passengers pulled the emergency chain. When the train reached Kannur, a few passengers raised the alarm that a woman and a child had gone missing after the incident.

"A man, who was injured, kept looking for a woman and a child. We found footwear and a mobile phone of that woman," a passenger told the media at Kannur.

Soon after the news of the missing persons came out, the city police inspected the tracks and found three bodies, including the woman and the child and a mid-aged man. Police suspect they fell off the train in the melee or fell on the track while attempting to deboard after seeing the fire.

Injured people have been admitted to various hospitals, including the Kozhikode Medical College, for treatment.
(with inputs from PTI)