Kerala train arson suspect unstable, confesses to crime, but remains silent on motive

The prime accused in the Kerala train arson case has confessed to his crime, but has not revealed the motive as yet.

The Kerala police in whose custody he is, said that Sharukh Saifi, the main accused in the case who was caught at Ratnagiri in Maharashtra has confessed to his crime. He has however not revealed the motive behind carrying such an attack, ADGP (Law and Order), M R Ajith Kumar told reporters.

The police has also managed to ascertain that the bag, which found on the track with a book and a bottle of petrol belonged to the accused person. The police currently has a 11-day custody of Saifi. In his diary the police had found the names of several railway stations. Saifi however told his interrogators that he was visiting Kerala for the first time. This had left investigators puzzled, which led to the suspicion that he may have acted on the directive of some other person.

Sources tell OneIndia that Saifi may have been acting at the behest of some person or as a lone wolf. The investigators are yet to ascertain what could have led him to carry out such an attack. His ideology is not known as yet. The trigger for his act is yet to be ascertained. It would be a long-drawn process for the investigating agencies since Saifi has remained silent on all the aspects. The only confession that they have managed to get out of him is that he had committed the act, the source said.

What is causing more problems for the investigating agencies is that they are finding his mental health unstable. While he has been declared fit by the medical officials, his answers are varying in nature. It could be genuine or just a pretence to dodge the probe, the source cited above also said.

Saifi is accused of starting a fire onboard a train in Kerala in which three people died. They died after they jumped off the train in an attempt to avoid getting burnt. Saifi then made his way to Ajmer, but jumped off the train at Maharashtra. He was found by the locals and then taken to the hospital. As his description matched with the person the Kerala police was looking for, the Maharashtra ATS swung into action and nabbed him.

An Intelligence Bureau official said that it would take a while to break Saifi and get him to spill out more about the incident. Currently, it appears that he is not mentally stable considering the fact that he himself has sustained so many injuries. The police will find a way to elicit more details out of him, the IB official also said.

Meanwhile, the Kerala police has charged Saifi with murder following his confession. The murder change was imposed due to the deaths that his act had caused. The police are however waiting for more details before they can slap charges under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.