Union Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said that the man, who was wanted by police in connection with setting passengers on fire onboard a train in Kerala, has been apprehended in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
“The person who committed this heinous crime has been apprehended in Ratnagiri of Maharashtra. I thank the Maharashtra govt, their police and RPF and NIA who have apprehended him this quickly,” Vaishnaw said, as quoted by ANI.
An unidentified man entered a Kannur-bound Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express on April 2, and sprayed an inflammable liquid on passengers setting them on fire. Three people, who tried to escape by jumping off the train, were found dead, reported the Indian Express.
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in coordination with central intelligence agencies detained the accused from Ratnagiri on Tuesday night, a senior Maharashtra ATS officer said. The accused has been identified as Sharukh Saifi.
A senior Maharashtra ATS officer said that Saifi was detained based on intelligence provided by the central intelligence agency, and the accused has admitted to his crime. He will be handed over to Kerala police.
An ATS source told IE that 30-year-old Saifi, who is a carpenter by profession, was found sleeping at the Ratnagiri Railway Station at around 11.30 PM on Tuesday. He had also suffered injuries in the fire and had taken treatment at the Ratnagiri Civic Hospital. He later escaped from the hospital.
After the incident, police had recovered a bag, a few writings in Hindi, and a phone linked to a person from Uttar Pradesh, from the train.
Kerala police had prepared a sketch of the suspect with the help of a witness, and police had formed multiple teams, who were coordinating with teams in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra as well as Delhi.