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The main suspect in the Kerala train fire incident, which resulted in three deaths and nine injuries, was captured in a combined operation by Maharashtra Police and central intelligence.
Shahrukh Saifi was apprehended by the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad on Wednesday. He is suspected of pouring gasoline on passengers and lighting them on fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express. According to the most recent information, Kerala police had taken his custody from the Maharashtra ATS.
According to reports, Saifi was taken from a hospital in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, where he was receiving care for burns he sustained on April 2 during the fire attack on the moving train. After receiving a tip from the individuals who saw him, Maharashtra police apprehended him. The Kerala Anti-Terrorism Squad representatives are reportedly on their way to Maharashtra.
Suspect apprehended, says railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. The suspect was apprehended in a joint police, RPF, and NIA operation, according to Vaishnaw. The railway minister said in a statement to the media on Wednesday that the perpetrator of this horrible act has been found in Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri. He also congratulated the Maharashtra government, its police, the RPF, and the NIA for immediately apprehending him. His role in the case won’t be proven until the Kerala investigation team has questioned him. The suspect will reportedly be transported to Kerala for additional investigation.
The Tracking and Arrest of Suspect
After setting his fellow passengers on fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train in Kozhikode, the suspect fled the scene.
On Tuesday, his whereabouts were found in Ratnagiri. He was receiving treatment at Ratnagiri civil hospital for head injuries he sustained when he fell while attempting to unboard the train he had set his target on.
However, he did not complete the entire course of treatment and was discharged. The Ratnagiri region was searched, and Sharukh Saifi was found and taken into custody. He is currently in RPF Ratnagiri’s custody. Kerela Police have already started questioning him in Ratnagiri.
The Kozhikode Train Fire Incident
On Sunday, April 2, at around 9.45 p.m., as the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train reached Kozhikode city, an unidentified man set fire to their fellow passengers, causing at least eight persons to receive burn injuries.
When the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express approached the Korapuzha bridge at Elathur, a fellow passenger spilled gasoline on nine of the passengers, causing injuries. Late on Sunday night, the bodies of a lady, a child, and a man who had vanished from the train following the fire were found near the Elathur railway station. According to the police, when they saw the fire, they either slid from the train or made an attempt to exit.
The Kerala Police’s Special Investigation Team organized a forensic investigation inside the coaches and gathered evidence. The offender was charged with murder, and a manhunt was started. Anil Kant, the DGP for Kerala, asserted that the case might have a terrorist element. In addition, officials distributed a computer-generated sketch of the culprit to every police station in India. An investigation team searched locations in Haryana connected to the accused, as well as in Noida, Ghaziabad, and Uttar Pradesh.
This action has proven to be essential in catching the suspect. Two days after the tragedy shook the state, senior investigators from a number of organizations, including the NIA (National Investigation Agency) and the Railway Protection Force (RPF), investigated the coaches of the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train.
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