New Delhi/Kozhikode: The search for Shahrukh Saifi, who is suspected to be the man responsible for the arson aboard the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express in Kozhikode on Sunday night, has intensified.
The Kerala Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) reached Delhi to gather complete information about Shahrukh. The squad is even examining his address in Delhi's Shaheen Bagh.
The squad will conduct searches in Noida and Delhi. However, it is not clear whether Shahrukh has returned to north India.
The investigation team zeroed in on Shahrukh based on the documents obtained from a bag that was left abandoned on the railway track.
As per the details available, Shahrukh is a Noida native who is around 30 years old and was living in Kozhikode working as a construction labourer.
The probe team will look to find out more about Shahrukh's family background and whether he has any criminal charges against him. It is also being investigated whether he is part of any terrorist organisation.
The incident
On Sunday night, an unidentified man set fire to passengers after pouring petrol on them when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur. Nine people suffered burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.
The bodies of a woman, an infant, and a man, who went missing from the train after the fire, were recovered from the tracks near the Elathur railway station, late on Sunday night. Police believe they fell off the train or attempted to get down after seeing the fire.
Senior officials of the Kerala police, RPF and others today held a high-level meeting and charted a course of action.
SIT assigned specific tasks
ADGP (Law and Order) M R Ajith Kumar said the SIT met today and tasks have been assigned to the members of the team.
"This was the first meeting of the SIT. We have assigned tasks for the members and a course of investigation has been charted...The investigating team had received information regarding the culprit and we are verifying it," Kumar told the media in Kozhikode.
Meanwhile, the Uttar Pradesh police today held a man for questioning in connection with the fire incident. The Anti-Terrorist Squad of the UP Police had held a man named Shahrukh on Monday night for questioning in Bulandshahr based on a tip-off.
Shahrukh's father Yameen claimed his son was at home for the past two months and had not gone to Kerala. He works as a carpenter in the district and has studied till class 10th, Yameen added. He said police had taken Shahrukh from home last night and later he came to know he was released.
Earlier in the day, RPF IG, G M Easwara Rao, inspected the coaches of the train which is parked at Kannur station and said as part of increasing security, the Railway would consider setting up more CCTV cameras at stations and in coaches.
"We are reviewing the security gaps. Planning to install CCTVs in more stations. We need to install more CCTV even in small stations too," Rao said.
Rao said the RPF was cooperating with the state police investigation into the attack and would provide all assistance.
Earlier, the SIT formed by the Kerala Police conducted a forensic examination inside the coaches and collected evidence. Police have already released a computer-generated sketch of the person, who is suspected to have poured petrol on passengers inside the compartment and set them on fire.
Initially, it was believed that the incident was the outcome of an altercation between the accused and another passenger. Subsequently, police and a passenger present in the compartment said the accused did not have any altercation with anyone. He poured an inflammable liquid, believed to be petrol, on the passengers and set them on fire, resulting in burn injuries to nine people.
The accused is suspected to have escaped when the train slowed down after someone pulled the emergency chain.
(With PTI inputs)
