The Special Court for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) here on Friday granted the agency the custody of Shahrukh Saifi, the sole accused in the Elathur train arson case, from May 2 to May 8. The NIA, which took over the probe from the State Police, had sought his custody stating that it was required to ascertain the motive of the terrorist activity. The court remanded him to the high-security prison at Viyyur in Thrissur. Saifi, a 24-year-old resident of Delhi is accused of pouring an inflammable liquid on fellow passengers and setting them on fire on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express near Elathur in Kozhikode on April 2. The incident had resulted in the deaths of three people who jumped off the train to escape the fire. Nine passengers sustained burns.
The custody application filed by the NIA said the investigation revealed that the accused had purchased petrol in a 2-litre plastic bottle from a fuel outlet near Shoranur railway station on April 2. He purchased a cigarette lighter with an intent to cause a fire on the train. The evidence collected so far pointed towards a terror act, it said.
