Kerala train arson probe: NIA searches 10 places in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh
Kerala train arson accused Shahrukh Saifi was charged with setting on fire the D1 coach of Alleppey-Kannur Executive Express, leading to the death of a child and two others
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday carried out searches at 10 locations in and around the Shaheen Bagh area in Delhi in connection with its probe into the Kozhikode train arson case, in which three passengers were killed and nine injured.
The searches covered the properties of the main accused Shahrukh Saifi, who triggered the fire in the train on April 2, and other suspects, the agency said in a statement.
During the searches, the sleuths recovered a number of digital devices, including mobile phones, laptops and hard disks, along with other documents, said the agency.
A resident of Shaheen Bagh, Saifi was arrested on April 4 by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police from Ratnagiri and later on April 6 by the special investigation team (SIT) of Kerala police who invoked Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against him.
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He was charged with setting on fire the D1 coach of Alleppey-Kannur Executive Express, leading to the death of a child and two others.
The NIA took over the probe from Kerala police on April 17 following an order issued by the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) division under the Union ministry of home affairs.
“The NIA probe so far has revealed that Shahrukh Saifi was a follower of various radical Islamic preachers, including Zakir Naik, Pakistan-based Tariq Jamil, Israr Ahamed and Taimoor Ahmed,” the agency statement added.
Earlier, the Delhi police conducted searches at Saifi’s residence.
According to police, the oldest of three brothers, Saifi lives with his parents, siblings and grandmother in their two-storey home in a narrow unpaved lane of Abul Fazal Enclave Part 2 in Shaheen Bagh.
On the night of April 2, according to Kerala police, Saifi took out two petrol bottles from his bag soon after the Alappuzha-Kannur Inter-City Express train left Kozhikode station at 9.30pm and around 9.45 pm, he sprinkled petrol on his co-passengers of D-1 compartment and set them on fire before they could react.
Saifi, 27, who also suffered burn injuries was arrested on the complaint filed by the railway police and was slapped with murder charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code by a district session court in Kozhikode.
