Kozhikode fire in train: Accused sent to 11-day police custody

Kozhikode: In the case of a man starting a fire inside a train in Kerala, leaving three people dead, a court here granted 11-day police custody of the accused on Friday, PTI reported.

The Kozhikode First Class Judicial Magistrate pronounced the decision for the man who got discharged from the district medical college after treatment for the injuries he acquired while attempting to escape from the moving train.

The 18-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) took custody of the accused, who was produced before the court under heavy police protection for further interrogation, PTI learned.

The Magistrate had reached the hospital and remanded the accused for 14 days of judicial custody earlier on the day. But, the medical board, which met today, concluded that Saifi's injuries were not serious and discharged him.

Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan has visited the families of the deceased in the incident and handed over compensation of Rs 5 lakh each.

ADGP (Law and Order), M R Ajith Kumar, told the media that the accused was arrested with the cooperation of various investigating agencies.

"This a special case which warranted a combined investigation. The Kerala police and other related agencies worked together to catch the accused. The credit goes to the joint effort taken by Kerala police and other investigating agencies. We are probing all angles in the case," he said.

"We cooperated with the Maharashtra police team and other investigation agencies to capture him and transport him here. Based on the nature of the case, we need a detailed and comprehensive investigation into this case," he said.

On the night of April 2, the suspect had set fire to passengers after pouring petrol on them when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur in Kozhikode. Nine people suffered burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.