Multiple agencies at work to collect evidence in train arson case
The Hindu
The investigation into the arson attack inside a coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express near Kozhikode in Kerala on Sunday is progressing fast with multiple agencies trying to piece together crucial evidence related to the case.
The investigation into the arson attack inside a coach of the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express near Kozhikode in Kerala on Sunday is progressing fast with multiple agencies trying to piece together crucial evidence related to the case.
While the Kerala Police remained tight-lipped about the prime suspect, a native of Noida aged around 30, on Tuesday, a team of officials went to the Uttar Pradesh town to know his whereabouts.
Personnel from both the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the State Anti-Terrorist Squad inspected the train, now parked in Kannur, and the site near Elathur in Kozhikode where the incident happened.
The suspect carrying two bottles had poured an inflammable liquid over his fellow passengers in the D 1 coach of the train and ignited it. Three persons died as they jumped off the moving train to escape from the fire and nine others suffered burns. The train stopped on a bridge over the Korappuzha river as the other passengers pulled the alarm chain.
M.R. Ajith Kumar, Additional Director-General of Police (Law and Order), told the media that a comprehensive investigation was being carried out. “We are in the preliminary stages. More information can be provided only after further inquiry,” he said on Tuesday morning after attending the first meeting of a special investigation team set up to inquire into the episode.
Replying to a question, he said that a coordinated effort was being made along with other agencies to nab the culprit. Earlier, the police had released a drawing based on the eye-witness accounts of the suspect’s physical features.
Meanwhile, G.M. Eswara Rao, Inspector-General, Railway Protection Force, and Principal Chief Security Commissioner, South Central Railway, said in Kannur that security in railway stations would be strengthened in the wake of the incident.
![](/newspic/picid-1269750-20240610165159.jpg)
The High Court of Karnataka on Monday declined to interfere, at present, in the investigation against a Bharatiya Janata Party worker, who is among the accused persons facing charges of circulating obscene clips, related to “morphed” images and videos clips related to Prajwal Revanna, former Hassan MP, in public domain through pen drives and other modes.
![](/newspic/picid-1269750-20240610163823.jpg)
The 16th edition of Bhoomi Habba was held on June 8, at the Visthar campus. The festival drew a vibrant crowd who came together to celebrate eco-consciousness through a variety of engaging activities, creative workshops, panel discussions, interactive exhibits and performances, all centered around this year’s theme: “Save Water, Save Lives.”