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New Delhi: The Central agencies have accused the Kerala Police of serious lapses in their handling of the train arson case that took place in Kerala recently. The case involved an arson attack on the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express that claimed three lives and left nine others injured.
The Kerala Police have yet to decide on transferring the case to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) despite accusations of lapses in their handling.
The NIA and Intelligence Bureau (IB) have confirmed that the attack was carried out by a suspect named Shahrukh Saifi, who was brought to Kerala with the intention of carrying out a massive attack by setting fire to an entire train bogie.
Reports suggest that the suspect was influenced by a large group with terrorist ideologies and provided with all the necessary support to carry out the arson attack. The central agencies suspect a conspiracy behind the choice of Kerala and the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express as the target of the attack.
The investigation team claims that the suspect was supposed to set ablaze an entire compartment of the train and had kept three bottles of petrol with him. However, lack of training resulted in the failure of the plan.
The NIA has decided to submit the case reports to the Union Home Ministry in case there are any delays in forwarding the case to the central agency. The Ministry of Home Affairs may transfer the case to the NIA if necessary.