UP Police ATS questions carpenter, released later

30-year-old carpenter Shahrukh Saifi was held for questioning by the Uttar Pradesh Police Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) in connection with a fire incident on a train in Kerala, which led to the loss of three lives including an infant, but was released later, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The incident happened on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express train Sunday night. Around 9.45 PM, when the train crossed Kozhikode city, an unidentified man poured an inflammable liquid on a co-passenger and set him ablaze, killing three people and causing burn injuries to at least eight persons, police said.

The three persons, including a one-year-old child and a woman, were missing from the train after the incident. They were found dead on the tracks near Elathur railway station late that night.

UP Police ATS held the man named Saifi for questioning in Bulandshahr based on a tip-off. The police team swooped in a house in Akbarabad under Syana police station area and took Shahrukh for questioning on Monday night, a senior official of the ATS told PTI. He was released soon after the questioning, the official said.

Saifi’s father Yameen claimed his son was at home for the past two months and had not been to Kerala.

“The recovered phone led investigators to his address and teams were sent there. The man was taken for questioning on Monday night but it appears to have been a false lead. He was released the following morning,” the police said.

With PTI inputs