Suspect who set passengers ablaze on Kerala train taken into custody from Maha's Ratnagiri

Thiruvananthapuram, April 5 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, sources said on Wednesday.

The suspect, identified as Shahrukh Saif from Uttar Pradesh's Noida, was nabbed on Tuesday night from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, according to Kerala Police.

Saif was taken into custody from Ratnagiri after he was getting treatment from a hospital for his burn injuries, which he is believed to have suffered while setting ablaze fellow passengers. He is also said to have suffered injuries while jumping out of the moving train.

While the details of the arrest have not been given so far, the police have unofficially confirmed the arrest of Saif.

Meanwhile the arrest was made by the Anti-Terror Squad of Maharashtra and a team of Kerala Police has also reached Ratnagiri.

Speaking to the media, Latheesh, a passenger on the train on Sunday who managed to escape the petrol attack, said seeing the picture of Saif now being flashed on the TV channels and seeing the physique of Saif at close quarters on the train, it appears this person itself is the one who did the crime.

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 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.

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