Kannur (Kerala) | The main accused in the Kerala train arson incident, that resulted in loss of three lives, was brought to this northern district of the State on Wednesday for collection of evidence, police said.
The accused Shahrukh Saifi was first taken into the two coaches of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train in which he had set fire to passengers leading to the death of three persons, including a two-year-old toddler.
Thereafter, he was taken to platform number 1 of the Kannur Railway Station where the police did not spend much time and left quickly as a large crowd gathered to see what was happening.
Saifi, on the fifth day of his 11-day police custody, was taken to Kannur amidst heavy security.
Hours before he was scheduled to arrive here, a police team led by Kannur ACP and including personnel from a reserve battalion checked the areas where the evidence collection was to take place.
In the coming days, the accused will be taken to Elathur in Kozhikode district where the incident took place and the petrol pump in Shornur in Palakkad district of the State where he bought the petrol, police said.
Police said that it was also investigating whether the accused got help from someone in Kannur where he had deboarded the train.
Saifi's police custody is set to expire on April 18. A Kozhikode First Class Judicial Magistrate had granted his 11-day custody to police after he was discharged from hospital after undergoing treatment for the injuries he suffered during an attempt to escape from the moving train.
Saifi has also confessed to the crime committed by him, according to the police.
On the night of April 2, Saifi had set his co-passengers on fire on board the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train when it reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur in Kozhikode.
Nine people had suffered burn injuries in the incident while three, including a toddler, were found dead on the tracks. Police suspect that they fell while trying to escape from the fire.
