Arson attack on Executive Express: The attacker was not targeting anyone in particular

Kozhikode: When the Alappuzha to Kannur Executive Express chugged into Kannur station 30 minutes late at 11.40 pm on Sunday, officials assumed the worst of the night was over.

Ten minutes after the train left Kozhikode station, an arsonist sprayed petrol on a few passengers in D1, an unreserved coach with 103 seats, and set them on fire.

But then the train crossed Elathur -- the border of Kozhikode City Corporation -- and had another 10 minutes to go before the next stop of Quilandi.

"But the passengers did well to douse the fire and pull the emergency chain," said Anil Kumar Nair, Security Commissioner of Railway Protection Force, Palakkad Division.

Once the train reached Quilandi, five of the eight passengers who suffered burns were ambulanced to Kozhikode Medical College. Three were sent to Baby Memorial Hospital, and by 10 pm, the train left for Kannur after a 30-minute delay, the officer said.

When the 16307 Executive Express pulled up at Kannur station, passengers of D1 alighted with tales of survival to tell their waiting relatives.

But for Sarafudeen Mampally of Pappinisseri, the wait got longer and anxious. His wife Rahmath Manikoth (45) and her two-year-old niece Zahra Bathool were missing.

Noufeeq K P (40), a distributor of dry fish in Mattanur, was also missing. The Railway Protection Force and the Kerala Police started looking for them only past midnight.

Nearly four hours after the arson attack, officials found the bodies of Rahmath, Sahara Bathul, and Noufeeq near the tracks near Elathur railway station.

Police now have a case of homicide, too, in their hands.

Died of fall injuries, not burns
Sahara Bathul (2) is survived by her mother Jaseela Manikoth and her father Shuhaib Saqafi, a madrasa teacher, at Chaliyam in Kozhikode.

Jaseela and her elder sister Rahmath are from Palottupally in Mattanur municipal town.

"Rahmath went to Kozhikode to bring Sahara home for her father's death anniversary which falls on April 5," said Kamaruddin, a relative of the sisters.

Noufeeq was a native of Baruvakundu at Kodolipram in Koodali, a grama panchayat near Mattannur town. He is survived by his wife Bushara and three little children Huda, Fida and Ismail. Noufeeq had gone to Kozhikode to attend a religious function, said Mahroof, his nephew.

Officer Nair, who is part of the investigation, said Rahmath, Sahara, and Noufeeq did not die of burns but of injuries they suffered when they fell off the train. "They might have either jumped off the slowing train or slipped off from the train in the commotion," he said.

'Felt droplets on arms, when I looked up there was fire'
Adwaith (21), a native of Kadirur in Thalassery, was returning from Kozhikode when he felt some droplets on his arms. "When he looked up from his mobile, there was fire all around him," said his cousin Vishruth U K.

Adwaith, who works in Bengaluru, was travelling with his father Anil Kumar (50), a law clerk, and his mother Sajisha P (47). All three suffered burns on the face, arms, and legs, and are undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Medical College.

Ruby (52), a section officer of Kannur University who was in D1, told her husband Deepak Prakash, that the arsonist was not targeting anyone in particular. "She told me that he sprayed petrol on the passengers and lit up the coach," Prakash told Onmanorama.com.

Ruby was part of a group of alumni of the Government College of Engineering, Kannur, returning from Kochi. They had gone there to make arrangements for a get-together.

Ruby suffered minor burns on her arms but is under observation in the ICU of Kozhikode Medical College.

But her former classmate Jyothindra Nath (50) and Prince (34), a senior section engineer with the Railways, suffered serious burns on their arms, face, and arms. They underwent plastic surgery, said an executive of Baby Memorial Hospital.

Prince's wife Ashwathy (29), a native of Mannuthy in Thrissur, was also injured in the attack. They were supposed to get down at Quilandi, 10 minutes away when the arsonist struck.

Relatives of the passengers said the coach was filled with panic and smoke.

Of the 103 seats in D1, around 70 were occupied then, said Nair. "Many got down in Kozhikode," he said.

Prince, posted in Quilandy, pulled the emergency chain soon after the train crossed Elathur station, where there is no stop.

By the time the locomotive pilot managed to stop the train, half of the wagons were on the bridge over Korapuzha River, 1km from Elathur station. Several passengers got down and walked. The suspect too might have walked away.

Officer Nair said the train was then taken to Quilandy from where the injured passengers were shifted to the two hospitals in Kozhikode.

Police release sketch of suspect
Police spoke to the survivors and eye-witnesses of the crime and based on their description, released a sketch of the suspect, said officers. "He is short, was sporting a beard, and was wearing a red T-shirt," said RPF officer Nair.

Based on Sajisha's complaint, police have registered a case of attempt to murder (Section 307 of IPC), causing grievous burns (Section 326 A of IPC), mischief by fire (Section 436 of IPC), and damaging railway property using fire (Section 151 of the Railway Act, 1989).