Kozhikode: Police on Thursday recorded the arrest of Shahrukh Saifi, accused in the Executive Express arson attack case.
Shahrukh, who was taken to Kozhikode Medical College Hospital for examination was diagnosed with jaundice and some liver-related problems. He has been admitted to the hospital under special police surveillance.
He will undergo another medical checkup on Friday and produced before the Magistrate.
An expert team of doctors examined Shahrukh for over six hours. Though they did not find any serious issues, his blood test confirmed jaundice, following which the doctors decided inpatient treatment was necessary.
The same was reported to ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, head of the investigation team, who reached the hospital on learning about the development.
Meanwhile, State Police Chief Anil Kant said detailed interrogation of the accused can happen only after his health condition improves.
He also said it would not be possible to ascertain at this stage if there are any terror links in the case.
While admitting that he operated alone, the lack of a definite reply from Shahrukh regarding the motive of the crime has raised the investigation team's suspicions. Shahrukh was grilled for three hours in the morning by top police officials.
The book with a list of targeted railway stations and the fact that he only knew about Kerala through hearsay is also puzzling cops. The police have concluded that many of the statements given by the accused are false.
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.
