Kerala train fire accused Sharukh Saifi may not be a lone wolf: Sources

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is all set to take over the investigation in the Kerala train arson case and this comes close on the heels of the Kerala police invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in the case.

The Kerala police during its course of investigation has found it hard to crack Sharukh Saifi, the prime accused in the case. A source tells OneIndia that Saifi is highly radicalised and he has been vary in his answers. The NIA is being roped in to probe the case, as prima facie evidence suggests that Saifi was part of a pan-India network.

He is also highly radicalised and was influenced by the speeches of radical preacher, Zakir Naik. The NIA would probe and find out if Saifi was being managed by handlers from outside. His diary had a number of railway stations and the suspicion is that there could be a larger motive to it, the source said.

The NIA had been part of this probe, although not formally. The agency had collected material and other evidences from the site.

Saifi had set fire to a train compartment as a result of which three persons had died and nine were injured. He was arrested from Ratnagiri in Maharashtra.

According to Kerala's additional director general of police, M R Ajith Kumar, Saifi would regularly watch videos of Naik's speeches. The probe is still on and the police is also trying to ascertain whether the accused was in contact with a local.

"We went to various states and based on scientific, documentary and oral evidence collected, conducted a comprehensive probe and decided to invoke the concerned provisions of UAPA. He is highly radicalised. He saw radicalised videos of Zakeer Naik and others. He came here in a pre-planned manner to commit the crime," Kumar told the media.

Another source says that Saifi had not acted as a lone wolf. He had outside support and was acting as per the instructions of others. While he may have been radicalised by watching the videos and due to online propaganda, the probe so far shows that he had acted with the support of other persons. On the radar of the agencies is also one person who was seen speeding away on a bike following the incident.

Saifi has confessed to the crime, but has not revealed any motive. He keeps feigning illness each time he is interrogated.

On April 2, Saifi had set his co-passengers on fire aboard the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train when it reached Korapuzha bridge at Kozhikode.