Kerala Police releases photo of suspect who set passengers on fire on moving train
Thiruvananthapuram (IANS)| The Kerala Police on Monday released a picture of a suspect who set ablaze his co-passengers on a moving Kannur-bound train. On Sunday night, a picture of the suspect was released from CCTV footage recorded at around 11.30 pm, two hours after the passengers were set ablaze on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express. Apart from CCTV, information about the suspect was collected from eyewitnesses traveling in the coach.
Earlier in the day, state police chief Anil Kant told the media that they have got vital leads and the case will be cracked soon.
Similarly, national agencies like NIA have also started preliminary inquiry into the incident.
On Sunday night, three passengers who jumped off the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express were found dead on the tracks. A two-year-old innocent and his aunt are also included in the dead.
According to sources, when the train was about to cross the Korapuzha bridge between Kozhikode and Kannur at around 9.30 pm, a middle-aged man doused the passengers with petrol and set them on fire.
Nine passengers injured in the fire are undergoing treatment at Kozhikode Hospital, where the condition of three is said to be critical.
Meanwhile, police sources said that the mobile phone recovered from the railway track did not have a SIM, but the investigating officers have found that the phone was last used on March 30.
The bag contained a piece of paper with a note in English and Hindi about places in nearby Thiruvananthapuram and Kanyakumari. It also had a pair of clothes, spectacles and a bottle of petrol.
State BJP President K. Surendran said the CCTV footage indicated that it was the handiwork of anti-national forces.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan condemned the incident and said that the police would be able to nab the suspect and assured that the treatment of the injured would be taken care of.
Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said that this is an untold incident and hence the state and central agencies should jointly investigate to instill confidence in the traveling public.
–IANS
