Suspect who set passengers ablaze on Kerala train arrested in Maharashtra

Three days after a man set ablaze passengers on a moving train, a special team of the Kerala Police with the help of Maharashtra Police is reported to have taken him into custody on Wednesday, according to Kerala Police.

The man has been taken into custody from Maharashtra.

While the details of the arrest have been kept secret so far, the police have unofficially confirmed the arrest of Noida resident, Shahrukh Saif.

According to sources, when the train was about to cross the Korapuzha bridge between Kozhikode and Kannur stretch around 9.30 p.m. on Sunday night, a middle-aged man sprayed petrol on passengers and set them ablaze.

Nine passengers, who suffered burn injuries, are undergoing treatment at a Kozhikode hospital.

On Monday afternoon the Kerala Police released the picture of the suspect, Saif.

The police got the vital information by probing the social media accounts through a mobile phone which was recovered from the side of the railway track, though the Sim Card tray was empty and the phone was last used on March 30.

Saif is said to be working as a labourer in Kozhikode.

Incidentally following the incident, various agencies, including the NIA, Railway Police and the different wings of the Kerala Police were on the prowl to nab the suspect who set his co-passengers on fire inside a moving Kannur-bound train on Sunday night.

On that day, seeing the man throwing petrol and lighting it up, three passengers who are believed to have jumped off the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, were found dead on the track. A two-year-old girl and her aunt and another man were among the deceased.