Maharashtra ATS hands over Delhi man behind train arson attack to Kerala cops

The accused, Shahrukh Saifi, was apprehended from Ratnagiri railway station

A 27-year-old carpenter, Shahrukh Saifi, a resident of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi, has been arrested by the Maharashtra ATS in connection with an arson attack that occurred inside a coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express at 9.30 pm at Kozhikode in Kerala on Sunday. On Wednesday morning, the ATS handed him over to the Kerala police. The ATS has not ruled out a terror angle in the incident.

"The accused was apprehended from Ratnagiri railway station where he was sleeping and was later handed over to the Kerala police," said DIG Mahesh Patil, Maharashtra ATS Saifi reportedly splashed inflammable liquid on several passengers and set them on fire. Three people, including a child, were killed when they jumped out of the moving train, while nine others suffered burns.

Saifi has confessed to the police that he was behind the attack and had bought petrol from near the railway station before boarding the train. "What kind of inflammable material was used by him needs to be ascertained with the help of forensic tests but he claimed that it was petrol that he splashed on passengers," an officer said.

Also Read: Maharashtra ATS detains one person in connection with Kerala train arson case

According to sources, Saifi was found lying on the tracks near Khed railway station in Ratnagiri on Tuesday at around 7 pm, and he was taken to a hospital by locals as he was unconscious. After regaining consciousness, he told the local police that he was on his way to Ajmer from Kerala and fell down as he was standing at the gate, which caused his injuries. The officials did not suspect anything at that time. However, when intelligence agencies received information about him, they launched a search in the area, and he was found sleeping at the railway station.

The ATS has recorded Saifi's initial statement, where he confessed to being behind the train attack incident, but did not reveal his motive. His social media accounts were also scanned to check if he had been radicalised or if there was any terror angle. However, the ATS was not able to ascertain these aspects due to time constraints. The officials found that he had changed his train from Kannod and boarded another one heading towards Rajasthan.

During his interrogation, Saifi kept changing his statement, and he did not reveal anything to the ATS while being handed over to the Kerala police. He told officials that he wanted to go to South Africa, but he did not reveal the reason behind this. A National Investigation Agency (NIA) and Intelligence Bureau (IB) team have also interrogated the accused. "We have taken him into custody, and after detailed interrogation, we will be able to share more details," said Anil Kant, DGP, Kerala, while speaking to the press. The accused's father, Fakhruddin Saifi, has also been a carpenter for the past two decades.

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Day in April when arson occurred