Months after the arson attack on board the Alappuzha-Kannur Express near Elathur in Kerala, the National Investigative Agency (NIA), on Friday, September 29, filed a chargesheet against the sole accused, Shahrukh Saifi. According to a press release from the NIA, the 27-year-old has been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), Railways Act and Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act Act (PDPP). The statement said Saifi was “self-radicalised” through various online groups.
The NIA chargesheet said, Saifi, who is from Shaheen Bagh, had chosen Kerala because it was “a location where he would not be recognised”, adding that the accused had intended to return to normal life after the attack.
The arson attack took place in coach D1 of the Alappuzha-Kannur Express train on April 2, as the train was approaching Elathur station in Kozhikode district. At the time, Shahrukh Saifi doused petrol on the passengers and started a fire. Three people, including a two-year-old child, who attempted to deboard the moving train in panic, lost their lives. The victims were Noufeeq, Rahmat, and two-year-old Zahra. Their bodies were later recovered from the railway tracks.
Two days after the attack, Saifi was taken into custody by the Maharashtra police on suspicions of having committed the arson attack. He was initially sent to the custody of the Kerala police. However, the NIA took over the probe on April 17.
According to the NIA, Saifi had boarded the moving Alappuzha-Kannur Express, committed the attack, and continued to travel in the same train till Kannur, before escaping to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, from where he was eventually arrested. The investigative agency said Saifi had travelled to Kerala from New Delhi on March 31 and reached the state on April 2. He purchased petrol from a bunk in Shoranur and a lighter from a nearby store at Shoranur Railway Station.
Read: Arson attack on Kerala train: What happened inside D1 coach