Kerala Train Attack: Suspect escaped on bike after setting passenger on fire; Police obtain CCTV footage
By Aishwarya Nair | First Published Apr 3, 2023, 10:02 AM ISTThe suspect is seen in the video getting onto a bike after the train stops and crossing the street.
Kozhikode: The Kerala police have obtained some key CCTV evidence in the tragic incident that happened on Sunday night when a man allegedly set a fellow train passenger on fire and injured eight others during the journey. The suspect is seen in the video getting onto a bike after the train stops at the station and then crossing the street. The video makes it obvious that there was another individual waiting for him with a bike. The vehicle is registered to a resident of Koorachund, Kozhikode, according to the police investigation.
The attacker wore a red shirt and a cap, the police report said citing an eyewitness. After pouring petrol over the passengers and setting them on fire, the attacker escaped when the train stopped. Meanwhile, the assailant's bag was found on the track near Elathur railway station. A substance similar to half a bottle of petrol, leaflets, mobile phone and clothes were recovered from the bag.
Latest Videos
Another eyewitness told Asianet News that the criminal boarded the Kannur-Alappuzha Executive Express' D1 coach at about 9.30 p.m. with two petrol bottles in hand. The witness felt threatened and stepped off of the coach. When the accused tossed the bottle, some petrol spilt over his head, burning his hair. The attacker, according to the eyewitness, did not appear to target a specific individual. Every person aboard the train was exposed to the petrol.
Meanwhile, three persons, including a one-year-old child and a woman, were found dead on the tracks near the Elathur railway station in Kozhikode. A senior police official from the district told news agency PTI that the bodies of a woman, a child and a man were recovered from the tracks late Sunday night. The three were missing from the train after the fire incident on Sunday, he added.
The incident happened at around 9.45 pm on Sunday when the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train reached the Korapuzha railway bridge after crossing Kozhikode city. When the train reached Kannur, a few passengers complained that a woman and a child were missing after the incident. Police suspect they fell off the train or attempted to deboard after seeing the fire.
subscribe to Asianet Newsable WhatsApp channel by clicking here.