Kozhikode: Shahrukh Saifi, accused in the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express arson case, has denied any involvement in the death of three passengers.
The accused said he did not push anyone from the train and that they must have fallen off it. Police had charged Shahrukh with murder in the case after finding he had a hand in the death of the three passengers.
Mattannur natives M Rahmath (44), her sister's daughter Sehra Bathool (2), and Noufeeq (38) are the passengers who were found lying dead on the track two hours after the incident.
None of the deceased had any burn injuries. Their cause of death was head injury and haemorrhaging due to the impact of the fall.
On Saturday, Shahrukh told the police he set his co-passengers on fire urged by a gut feeling. The 24-year-old revealed, as per reports, that his plan was to commit the crime in one of the south Indian states and choosing Kerala was a mere coincidence.
Meanwhile, the Kochi and Chennai units of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) handed over a report on the incident to the Centre.
According to Manorama News, the report states that the possibility of terror links can't be disregarded at this point.
It said there was planning and conspiracy to execute the crime, and an investigation on the same should be conducted outside Kerala too. The decision on whether NIA should take over the case will be arrived at after the Centre examines the report.
The incident
On the night of April 2, the accused barged into the D1 compartment of the Executive Express around 9.17 pm, carrying petrol in a bottle. He poured the fuel on the passengers without any provocation and lit the fire when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur.
Nine people suffered burn injuries, while the bodies of a woman, an infant, and a man were recovered later from the tracks near Elathur. Police believe they fell off the train or jumped off it, seeing the fire. The accused absconded from the spot and was later arrested by the Maharashtra ATS from Ratnagiri on Tuesday.
