New Delhi: Maharashtra's Anti-Terrorist Squad said that Kozhikode train fire case suspect Shahrukh Saifi, who was held from Ratnagiri in Maharasthra on Wednesday morning, confessed to the crime, reported Manorama News.
His brothers and father are also reportedly being questioned. Earlier, the Shaheen Bagh native's mother said that he was missing for the past six days. His father had also confirmed that the shirt seized from the bag found from the railway track in Kozhikode belonged to Saifi.
The Kerala Police arrived at his home in Shaheen Bagh here for further probe.
Officers are suspecting that Saifi has links with certain terrorist outfits, Manorama News reported.
The man suspected of starting a fire onboard a train in Kerala, which left three dead, was apprehended from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and would be brought to Kerala soon, said the state police chief Anil Kant said on Wednesday.
The suspect had reportedly sustained injuries to his face and head and had sought medical treatment at a hospital in Ratnagiri. He was trying to escape to Gujarat but the probe team could track him after he switched on his phone.
Speaking to reporters in the Kerala state capital, Kant said Shahrukh Saifi was apprehended due to the combined efforts of the SIT formed here, central agencies and Maharashtra police.
"The suspect has been taken into custody. Right now he is in Ratnagiri. The process is on to bring him here. He will be brought here as soon as possible," the State Police Chief said.
A team of police officials from Kerala have reached Ratnagiri and the suspect will be handed over to them for further probe into the incident. Kant also said that the motive behind the attack would be known only after the suspect was interrogated.
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has congratulated the team of investigators for tracking down the accused in the case, through his social media post.
The attack resulted in the deaths of three passengers, including a child, when they jumped out of the moving train to escape the fire.
Nine other passengers sustained burn injuries in the arson attack on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train at around 9.45 pm on Sunday.
When the train was about to cross the Korapuzha bridge between Kozhikode and Kannur stretch, Saifi is alleged to have sprayed petrol on passengers and set them ablaze.
(With inputs from PTI, IANS)
