Man accused of causing fire incident onboard train in Kerala yet to be identified: Police

PTI, Apr 3, 2023, 10:51 AM IST

Railway police on Monday said it was yet to identify the man who allegedly set fire to a co-passenger on board an express train leading to the death of three persons and injuries to nine others the previous night.

A case of murder has been lodged against the accused, police said.

The bodies of a woman, a one-year-old infant and a man, who went missing from the train after the fire, were recovered from the tracks near the Elathur railway station here, late on Sunday night.

Police believe they fell off the train or attempted to get down after seeing the fire.

”Investigation is going on. A forensic team is inspecting the site,” a Railway police officer told PTI.

The officer said luggage believed to be that of the accused was recovered from the train — Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train — and it contained a bottle of petrol.

”Besides that there were no other clues in the bag. It is not believed to be an act of terror. There is no information or links regarding that presently,” he said.

The incident occurred around 9.45 pm on Sunday, when the train reached the Korapuzha railway bridge here after crossing Kozhikode city.

The accused poured an inflammable liquid, believed to be petrol, on a co-passenger and set him on fire resulting in burn injuries to nine other passengers, police said.

”Some of the injured suffered 50 per cent burns, but presently their health condition is stable,” another Railway police officer said.

The bodies found on the tracks did not have any burns, he added. The accused had escaped soon after the incident, while the injured were shifted to hospitals after passengers pulled the emergency chain.

When the train reached Kannur, a few passengers complained that a woman and a child were missing after the incident.

”A man, who was injured, kept looking for a woman and a child. We found footwear and a mobile phone of that woman,” a passenger told the media at Kannur.

Soon after the news of the missing persons came out, the city police inspected the tracks and found three bodies, including the woman and the child and a mid-aged man.

”We have found CCTV visuals of the suspect. Investigation is on,” a senior police official of the district had said.

Sources said the woman was the child’s aunt.