NIA raids Delhi's Shaheen Bagh in Kerala train arson case
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday conducted raids in Shaheen Bagh area of Delhi in connection with its ongoing investigation into last month’s case of arson on a train in Kerala’s Elathur.
According to report, searches in the area began on early Thursday morning and are currently underway at various locations at the hideouts of the suspects connected to the case.
On April 2, Shahrukh Saifi, a resident of Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh tried to set afire some passengers on board the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express at Elathur in Kerala’s Kozhikode.
Reports at the time said that Saifi doused the passengers with some inflammable liquid and tried to light them on fire which sparked panic aboard the train resulting in the deaths of three people who jumped from the train in a bid to escape.
Saifi, who had himself sustained injuries while carrying out the attack, was later arrested from Ratnagiri by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police and Central Intelligence.
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The NIA took over the case from the Kerala Police following an order issued by the Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) division under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The federal anti-terror agency is probing a larger terror conspiracy which, according to the Kerala Police, led to the radicalization of 27-year-old Saifi who was also reportedly influenced by the inflammatory speeches of Islamic televangelist Zakir Naik.
Officials said the agency is also exploring the possibility that Saifi might’ve had handlers and aides who may have been part of this plot and inter-state links are also being examined.
Last week, a district session court in Kozhikode booked the accused Saifi under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code in a case filed against him by the Railway police.
The accused had told the police that he acted alone and nobody else was involved, however, officials have claimed that Saifi was part of a preplanned conspiracy and not a lone-wolf attack.
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