Suspect In Kerala Train Fire Sent To 11-Day Police Custody

A court here on Friday granted 11-day police custody of the man who started a fire onboard a train in Kerala that left three people dead and many injured on April 2.

Kozhikode First Class Judicial Magistrate granted 11-day custody of the prime suspect Shahrukh Saifi, who was discharged from the medical college here after undergoing treatment for the injuries he suffered during an attempt to escape from the moving train.

The 18-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) took custody of the accused, who was produced before the court under heavy police protection, for further interrogation, a senior police official told PTI.

Earlier in the day, the Magistrate reached the hospital and remanded the accused for 14 days in judicial custody.

A medical board, which met today concluded that Saifi's injuries were not serious, and discharged him.

Meanwhile, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the bereaved families of the three victims and handed over a compensation of Rs five lakh each.

Investigating officers, including ADGP (Law and Order), M R Ajith Kumar, and other senior officials today briefed the CM about the progress made in the investigation.

Addressing media, Mr Kumar said the accused was arrested with the cooperation of various investigating agencies.

"This a special case which warranted a combined investigation. The Kerala police and other related agencies worked together to catch the accused. The credit goes to the joint effort taken by Kerala police and other investigating agencies. We are probing all angles in the case," Mr Kumar said.

He further said the investigating agencies had received a tip-off that the accused was in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra and a team of police was dispatched to take him into custody.

"We cooperated with the Maharashtra police team and other investigation agencies to capture him and transport him here. Based on the nature of the case, we need a detailed and comprehensive investigation into this case," he said.

On the night of April 2, the suspect had set fire to passengers after pouring petrol on them when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur in Kozhikode. Nine people suffered burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)