Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, May 11: In connection with the Elathur train arson attack case that occurred on April 2, this year, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted searches at 10 places in the nation’s capital on Thursday.
The agency sleuths began these searches this morning, and the raids at Shahin Bagh in Delhi and other suspect locations are still going on.
The anti-terror agency took over this case approximately a month ago, and the NIA conducted these searches at the suspects’ hiding places. The agency then began its investigation by charging the “highly radicalised” apprehended suspect Shahrukh Saifi.
In response to a directive from the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Counter Terrorism and Counter Radicalization (CTCR) division, the agency took over the case from the Kerala Police in mid-April.
The NIA invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act in its based on doubts that the accused was dispatched to the state by his handlers and he had enough local assistance, as it was a clear case of terrorism involving numerous states.
Following the accuser’s filing of murder charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code by a district session court in Kozhikode, who was later named as Shahrukh Saifi and who also sustained burn injuries during the terrorist act, the NIA took immediate action. In a case brought by the railway police, he was accused of murder.
According to authorities, the crime was not a one-man operation as the accused confessed; rather, it was the result of a preplanned conspiracy.
After the train arson attack case, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra police and Central Intelligence detained Saifi, a 27-year-old inhabitant of Shaheen Bagh in Delhi. He had also been hurt in the assault.
When questioned by a special investigative team (SIT), Saifi gave contradicting statements, originally claiming that he was being exploited by someone before retracting and claiming that everything had been planned and carried out by him alone.
The NIA is looking into the bigger plot that Saifi used to organise and carry out the arson attack. Saifi was considered by Kerala police to be “highly radicalised” and was motivated by the fiery sermons of Islamic evangelist Zakir Naik.
Given that Saifi lives in Shaheen Bagh in Delhi and was apprehended in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, the NIA is also investigating potential handlers and aides who may have been involved in this conspiracy. It is also investigating interstate connections.
The NIA has been actively involved in the train arson case since the beginning and has joined forces with officers from its Kochi branch to conduct a probe.
The agency’s officials also arrived at the scene of the incident shortly after the attack to investigate the fire’s origin and gather evidence for forensic examination.
On April 2, Saifi sprayed some passengers on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express at Elathur in Kozhikode with inflammable liquid in an effort to set them on fire.
While attempting to jump from the train to get away from the fire, three passengers died. Later, Saifi was taken into custody in Ratnagiri.
