New Delhi: Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw today, March 5, said that the suspect in the arson attack inside a train in Kerala has been nabbed from Maharashta's Ratnagiri district.

"The culprit who committed this heinous crime has been arrested in Ratnagiri of Maharashtra. I thank the Maharashtra government, their police and Railway Protection Force and the National Investigation Agency who have apprehended him this quickly," Vaishnaw said.

A joint team of personnel from CIA and Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in Maharashtra nabbed from Ratnagiri, the suspected perpetrator who had been absconding after the April 2 incident on the Alleppy -Kannur Express when it was passing through Elathur in Kozhikode district of Kerala.

"Kerala police team has also reached Ratnagiri and the accused will be handed over to them soon," said an official of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorist 

Kerala Police had formulated a Special Investigation Team and launched a hunt for the suspect identified as Sharukh Saifi, who is accused of pouring an inflammable liquid on a fellow passenger and setting fire inside the D1 compartment of the Allppey-Kannur Main Executive Express train near Elathur. The manhunt was made on the basis of a sketch prepared by Kerala Police on details provided by an eyewitness.

The Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express's damaged railway carriages were examined by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday at the Kannur Railway station, where forensic evidence was also collected.

Hours after the incident, three people, including a mother and a kid, were discovered dead on the tracks close to Elathur railway station, according to the police.

Five people were admitted to the Kozhikode Medical College, while three more with burn injuries were taken to a local private hospital. Women make up at least three of the injured. The man allegedly set fire to a passenger during a disagreement, according to the authorities.

One of the injured persons said that the unidentified assailant splashed an inflammable substance, seemingly petrol or kerosene on his co-passenger and the fire spread to other seats and luggage, engulfing the coach in flames.

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