In its preliminary report to the Ministry of Home Affairs about the Kerala train arson attack, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has stated that the terror angle may not be ruled out yet, and said that a comprehensive investigation into the incident is necessary. According to reports, the NIA might take over the case investigation from the Kerala police. A bogey in the Executive Express train from Alappuzha to Kannur was set on fire by a youth on the night of April 2. Three people, including a two-year-old infant, died while jumping off the train to avoid the attack.
The NIA and other central agencies have been keeping a tab on the investigation by the Kerala police, and are of the view that the accused planned to set the entire compartment on fire. Reports state that a team of NIA officials from Kochi and Chennai are collecting information about the attack, and the NIA DIG was in Kozhikode for the probe. The Hindustan Times quoted an official saying that the multiple people must have been responsible for the attack, and that the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) shall be invoked.
The accused in the case, identified as 24-year-old Shahrukh Saifi, was arrested from Maharashtra and brought to Kerala. He deposed before the investigators that he had planned the attack on his own, and was sent to police custody. Sources in the Kerala police, who are probing the case, told IANS that there are several missing pieces in what Shahrukh Saifi claimed and what actually took place on the day of the arson attack. They are investigating how he reached Shoranur in Kerala's Palakkad district, and bought four litres of petrol from a fuel pump at Kuzhapulli in Shoranur.
(With IANS inputs)