Kozhikode train arson: SIT hands over case file to NIA

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police that initially probed the Kozhikode train arson case has handed over the case diary and related files with the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police that initially probed the Kozhikode train arson case handed over the case diary and related files with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday. The NIA officers secured the files from Superintendent of Police (Crime Branch) P. Vikraman, who headed the probe.

It was on April 18 that the NIA registered a fresh case based on the Union Home Ministry’s directive. Subsequently, State Police Chief Anil Kanth issued an order to the SIT to hand over the case details to NIA and cooperate with the further investigation.

The NIA probe was recommended into the incident soon after the suspected arsonist, Shahrukh Saifi, was charged under Section 16 (punishment for terrorist Act) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act by the Kerala Police. The 26-year-old from Shaheen Bagh was booked under UAPA based on the evidence they reportedly gathered about his highly radicalised life in his village.

Ahead of taking over the probe, the NIA officers were in Kozhikode for a preliminary investigation into the case. Saifi had allegedly doused passengers with petrol and set them on fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, shortly after the train passed Elathur station, near Kozhikode, on the night of April 2 . Three passengers who reportedly leaped from the moving train had died, while nine others had sustained burns.

In the preliminary investigation, there were reportedly hints that Saifi had visited Kerala earlier also. Though the suspect remained tight-lipped during interrogation by the SIT, the NIA has reportedly come up with evidence confirming his plans for bigger strikes. The NIA has apparently unearthed digital evidence to establish the motives behind Saifi’s attack.

Sources said the NIA would soon secure the custody of the suspect after shifting the case from the Kozhikode Sessions Court to the NIA Special Court in Kochi. The preliminary interrogation would be based on the report of the NIA’s cyber forensic wing. Also, it would focus on exposing his suspected handlers and the possible Kerala connections to the planned attack, the sources said.

A police officer who was part of the SIT said the investigation of the Kerala Police was primarily focussed on establishing Saifi’s role in the train arson with the support of scientific evidence. It took two weeks to complete the process, he said, adding that the bigger conspiracy, including the alleged terror modules behind the incident, could be brought to light only through a second phase probe.