The Kerala government has not ruled out a terror angle behind the arson attack on a moving train on Sunday night, which resulted in the death of three, including a child. The attack took place in the D1 compartment of Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express (16307) at Elathur, nearly 10 km from Kozhikode, around 9.20 pm. The attacker came to the bogie with two bottles of petrol, poured it on the passengers and the seats and lit fire. According to those who were travelling in the bogie, the suspect was wearing a red-chequered shirt and pants.
The train which left Alappuzha for Kannur at 2.50 pm reached Kozhikode Railway Station at 9.08 pm. It restarted its journey after a halt of four minutes. There would be only a handful of passengers in this train after Kozhikode where the Railway Protection Force personnel would also get down. It is assumed that the attacker had prior knowledge about this routine as the attack took place just eight minutes after the train left Kozhikode.
Nine passengers faced burn injuries and most of them were admitted to a private hospital and the medical college hospital in Kozhikode. Among them, the condition of Advaid, a 21-year-old youth, is very critical—he has suffered 35 per cent burns. His father Anil Kumar also suffered 21 per cent burns.
Kerala DGP Anil Kant said that a special investigation team would be formed and that the police have got some leads about the suspect. The primary investigation is progressing under North Zone IG Neeraj Gupta. Gupta has already visited the site and a scientific examination is going on.
With the help of a passenger, the police have prepared a sketch of the suspect. The sketch suggests that the attacker was wearing a cap, and had a stubble beard. The police have also released a CCTV visual which was captured from Kaattilpeedika, around 2km away from the place of attack. The CCTV footage shows a man wearing a red-chequered shirt and with a bag on his back, calling someone on his phone, and later riding pillion on a scooter. The man riding the scooter seems to be wearing a white mundu (dhoti). The police had earlier thought that the man in the footage was the suspect. However, it was later ruled out by police.
The investigators, however, do not rule out the possibility of an elaborate planning behind the attack and that the suspect received help from others.
Police have also recovered a bag, suspected to be left behind by the culprit, from the railway track. The bag contained a bottle of petrol, a notebook, some clothes, spectacles, a purse, a tiffin box, and some food. A mobile phone, too, has been recovered close to the bag. The scribbles in the notebook include certain self-affirmations and names of places like Chirayinkeezhu, Kazhakoottam, Kanyakumari, and Thiruvananthapuram. The scribbles are in English and Hindi. Also, the letter S is scribbled multiple times, in multiple sizes in the book.
It is rumoured that the attacker might be a north Indian migrant worker. However, the man in the CCTV visuals was picked by someone wearing a white mundu—a typical Malayali attire. The man in the footage had also carried a backpack, and police suspect that the bag found on the railway track might be an attempt to divert investigation.
The train, which came under attack, restarted its journey after 50 minutes of halt at Elathur. When it reached Koyilandi, one of the passengers, Rasiq, got down and took medical help. He also complained to the police that two people—Rahmath of Mattannur Palottupalli Badriya Mansil and her niece Sherhramath—were missing. Police launched a probe and found three bodies on the railway track in Elathur.
By 2pm, the bodies were identified as that of Rahmath, Sherhramath and a man named Noufeeq. None of the bodies had suffered burns, but the police inference is that they might have jumped from the train to escape the attack.