Train No 16307, Alappuzha-Kannur Express, which began its journey from Alappuzha at 2.50 pm on Sunday, April 2, reached Kozhikode at around 9.10 pm. It had another three hours of run-time to reach Kannur. On most days the train would be crowded till it reaches Kozhikode. There are only a few stops between Kozhikode and Kannur and the train is usually empty by half by the time it leaves Kozhikode. It would have been another sleepy night ride for the passengers amid mostly empty seats, but shortly before it could reach the next station chaos erupted.

The exact course of events is still hazy but a man walked into the D1 coach of the train, sprayed petrol on the seated passengers from two bottles he held in his hand and set fire, spreading panic. The metalic sound of the train trundling through the tracks was drowned in screams. The resulting fire spread quickly across the compartment injuring nine people. Bodies of three people, including a one-year-old child and a woman, were found on the tracks later. The police later identified the suspect as Shaharuq Saifi, a Noida native.

PV Latheesh, a passenger who was travelling in the compartment, recollected that there was chaos on the train for three minutes and everyone was screaming and trying to escape. “None of us ever expected that someone would do this. This kind of an incident has never been reported.”

Latheesh told Asianet News that he had seen the accused. He was wearing a shirt with check pattern in a colour similar to red. “He had two petrol bottles in his hand, I noticed that, and I suddenly thought he was about to kill himself. When he was about to open a bottle, I tried to run to another compartment, but he had splashed petrol around him, and it fell on my head also. The petrol also fell on Jyothindranadh and Prakasan (his colleagues) and other passengers," he said.

Latheesh then ran past the accused in a bid to escape, while Saifi set fire to the petrol. “By that time, the fire had spread to the entire compartment. I could not see where he was going (after setting the fire). People were screaming, and it was chaotic. Everyone was trying to run and escape. I think he had only two bottles with him. I did not notice if had anything else in his hand,” he added. Latheesh’s quick thinking in running to the next compartment saved him from injuries.

The train was running from the southern district of Alappuzha to the northern Kannur district. The incident happened in D1 compartment at 9.20 pm when the train had passed Kozhikode and was approaching the Elathur railway station, reported Mathrubhumi.

While the police have zeroed in on the suspect, the motives behind the crime still remain unclear.