Three Days After Kerala Train Fire, Suspect Detained From Maharashtra

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New Delhi: A joint team of Central Intelligence and Maharashtra ATS arrested Sharukh Saifi, the fugitive accused in the Kerala train fire case, at Ratnagiri Train Station in Maharashtra on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Saifi's is accused of setting a fellow passenger on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express on Sunday, April 2, at about 9:45 p.m., when the train arrived at the Korapuzha railway bridge after passing through Kozhikode city, by throwing an inflammable liquid on him.

While eight other passengers were injured during the process, three people—including a one-year-old kid and a woman—were found dead on the tracks at Kozhikode's Elathur railway station hours later.

Saifi's location was traced to Ratnagiri yesterday. According to the media reports, Sharukh Saifi was being treated at Ratnagiri civil hospital for head injuries sustained during a fall while exiting the train he had targeted in Kerala.

He, on the other hand, fled the hospital before the treatment was completed. Afterward, intensive searches were performed in the Ratnagiri area, and Sharukh Saifi was arrested.
He is now being held by the Railway Protection Force (RPF), Ratnagiri, and his interrogation has not yet begun. Ratnagiri has also been visited by Kerala Police.

Kozhikode train fire incident suspect Shahrukh Saifi being handed over to Kerala Police: Maharashtra Police https://t.co/I9r158XKuE — ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2023

Earlier there were reports that a man who resembled the one in the sketch sought treatment at the Kannur District Hospital. The Police arrived at the hospital and collected details. The accused is learnt to have escaped after someone pulled the chain to stop the train. A search is on to find the assailant.

Two railway police officers visited Noida on Tuesday morning as part of a search operation for the accused. According to the officials, the man set fire to a passenger allegedly after an argument on board the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train near Elathur in Kozhikode district on Sunday night.