Kannur (Kerala) (PTI) The man suspected of starting a fire onboard a train in Kerala which led to the death of three, including a toddler, was brought to the southern state by road on Thursday morning after being caught in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra on the previous day.

The on-road journey of suspect Shahrukh Saifi to Kozhikode, however, witnessed some dramatic events.

After entering Kerala by road in the wee hours, as the police SUV carrying Saifi in the rear seat proceeded towards Kozhikode, one of its tyres burst and the vehicle could not be used.

Subsequently, after waiting on the roadside for more than an hour, the vehicle arranged by the Edakkad police in Kannur district for onward journey did not start, delaying the journey further.

Another vehicle had to be arranged before the police team and the suspect could proceed to Kozhikode.

On the night of April 2, an unidentified man had set fire to passengers after pouring petrol on them when the train reached Korapuzha bridge near Elathur. Nine people suffered burn injuries and are undergoing treatment at various hospitals.

The bodies of a woman, an infant, and a man, who went missing from the train after the fire, were recovered from the tracks near Elathur railway station. Police believe they fell off the train or attempted to get down after seeing the fire.

According to police, the incident was probably pre-planned as he was carrying petrol in a bottle in his bag.

Subsequent to the tragic incident on April 2, the Kerala Police had constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify and apprehend the assailant.

After a sketch of the assailant was released by Kerala Police based on the statements of passengers who witnessed the incident, the suspect was caught from Ratnagiri by Maharashtra ATS.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Patna (PTI): The body of a Bihar Police personnel was found hanging from the ceiling of a room in his barracks here, a senior officer said on Sunday.

Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma said a havildar with Bihar State Armed Police-1, popularly known as "Gorkha battalion", died allegedly by suicide as he had been suffering from some ailment.

The deceased left behind "two suicide notes", one in Hindi and the other in his native language Nepali.

"From the suicide notes, it appears that Navraj Sunar, the deceased havildar, had been suffering from some ailment which had caused him much mental anguish and may have driven him to take the extreme step," the SSP said.

The body was being sent to the native village of the deceased in Nepal after a post-mortem examination, while further investigations were on, with forensic experts inspecting the site of the incident.