Nabbing Kerala train arson suspected: How the chase unfolded

After days of efforts the enforcement agencies finally managed to arrest Sharukh Saifi the prime accused in the Kerala train arson case.

Following the incident, Saifi was heading for Ajmer, but was apprehended in Khed taluk in Maharashtra's Ratnagiri. On April 3, he was found unconscious near a railway track on the Konkan line by residents of the Khed taluk. He was then taken to a primary health centre in Khed. However since his injuries were grave, he was shifted to the Civil District Hospital in Ratnagiri. All this took place on April 3, a report in the Manorama said.

On April 4, he regained consciousness and fled from the hospital, following which he was not traceable. On the same day, the Maharashtra ATS got information that the Kerala police was looking for Saifi. Based on Intelligence reports, the ATS learnt that the man that the Kerala police were looking for was the same who had fled from the Ratnagiri hospital.

The ATS then swung into action and then managed to arrest him at the Ratnagiri railway station. The ATS then informed the Kerala police about Saifi. During his initial round of questioning, he had admitted to have committing the arson, but refused to say why.

The people at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi from where Saifi hails from are shocked over the developments. They had not known him to someone who spoke or expressed much. He would only accompany his father Fakhruddin to their carpentry shop in Noida. On March 31, he told his father his father that he was going out to look for a job and since then did not return. After his father was unable to track him, he filed a missing complaint with the police station.

At first the Kerala police suspected that Saifi was a carpenter from Uttar Pradesh. Based on the inputs, the UP police nabbed a namesake, but he was let off after questioning.

How the incident unfolded:

Saifi left Shaheen Bagh in Delhi on March 31, following which his father filed a missing complaint on April 2. On April 3, he is alleged to have reached Kerala, the same day that the arson took place. He then made his way to Ajmer. However he was found unconscious near a railway track at Khed taluk. He was taken to hospital from where he fled.

On April 4, the Maharashtra ATS traces him to a railway station. He is arrested and handed over to the Kerala police. Currently he has been taken for medical examination, following which his custody would be sought. In custody, he would be interrogated for more leads into the case. His movie, possible handlers and source of funding would be the primary line of investigation.