https://indianpedia.org/index.php?action=history&feed=atom&title=2023_Elathur_train_attack2023 Elathur train attack - Revision history2026-08-03T14:26:12ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.45.4https://indianpedia.org/index.php?title=2023_Elathur_train_attack&diff=483040&oldid=prevEdith2564080 at 00:14, 9 March 20262026-03-09T00:14:13Z<p></p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Short description|Train attack in Kerala, India}}<br />
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2024}}<br />
The '''2023 Elathur Train Attack''' occurred on the night of April 2, 2023, when a lone Islamic terrorist named Sharukh Saifi, a resident of [[Delhi]]<ref>{{Cite news |last=Joseph |first=A. Mithosh |date=2023-04-16 |title=Kozhikode train arson {{!}} SIT confirms terror angle, UAPA slapped on suspect |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sit-confirms-terror-angle-in-train-arson-suspect-charged-under-uapa/article66744945.ece |access-date=2024-05-19 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> set fire to coach number D1 of the Alappuzha-Kannur Express near [[Elathur, Kozhikode|Elathur]] railway station in [[Kozhikode district]], [[Kerala]], [[India]].<ref name="attack">{{cite news |title=Kerala train attack: Suspect Shahrukh Saifi brought to Kozhikode after vehicles carrying him suffer breakdowns |url=https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/kerala-train-attack-suspect-shahrukh-saifi-brought-to-kozhikode-after-vehicles-carrying-him-suffer-breakdowns20230406093728/ |work=ANI News |language=en}}</ref> The incident resulted in the death of three passengers, including a child. Nine passengers sustained burn injuries.<ref>{{cite news |title=Shahrukh Saifi, key suspect, nabbed in Kerala train attack case: What we know so far |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kozhikode/kerala-train-attack-key-suspect-nabbed-in-maharashtra-what-we-know-so-far-about-the-case/articleshow/99260319.cms?from=mdr |work=The Times of India |date=5 April 2023}}</ref><br />
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==Incident==<br />
On 2 April 2023, at 9:30 PM local time, an unidentified man boarded the Alappuzha-Kannur Express without a reserved ticket and set fire to coach number D1 using inflammable liquid. Some passengers managed to douse the flames on time and help others move quickly to the next compartments, averting a major accident. The passengers hailing from [[Mattanur|Mattannur]] were those who reportedly jumped off the moving train to escape from the fire. The police recovered the bodies of three passengers, including a child, from the railway track near Elathur, who were reportedly killed while jumping off from the moving train to escape from the fire.<ref name= "attack"/><br />
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==Investigation==<br />
Police sources said there were strong reasons to suspect the attack was a premeditated one by the arsonist. The man who set fire to the compartment on Sunday at 9.30 p.m., following a heated exchange of words with the co-passengers, escaped from the spot with the help of another stranger.<ref name="auto"/><br />
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Closed circuit television cameras from a nearby location caught him fleeing from the spot on a two-wheeler, allegedly arranged by the stranger. This was later found to be wrong, as the man was not the attacker, but a student. Senior police officers declined to confirm reports that the suspected man was taken into custody a few hours after the incident.<ref name="auto">{{cite news |title=Kerala police team with Elathur train arson attack case suspect reach Kozhikode |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2023/apr/06/kerala-police-team-with-elathur-train-arson-attack-case-suspect-reach-kozhikode-2563256.html |work=The New Indian Express}}</ref><br />
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Eyewitnesses in the compartment stated that the attacker was pouring an inflammable liquid on the floor and setting it on fire. They said it was a close shave for nine passengers who sustained burn injuries and were admitted to various hospitals in Kozhikode City and Koyilandy.<ref name="auto" /> The police and RPF recorded the statements of the majority of the passengers to support the intensified probe. They also recovered a bag reportedly used by the arsonist to carry the inflammable liquid. There were two bottles of combustible liquid, reportedly petrol, to unleash the attack, the police said.<ref name="auto" /><br />
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The police could not initially confirm whether the attacker targeted any particular individual or a group of passengers. At the same time, [[Railway Protection Force]] (RPF) sources said there were witnesses who expressed doubts over his plan to target a woman passenger in the group.<ref name=":0">{{cite news |date=8 April 2023 |title=IB, NIA confirm terror links behind Kozhikode train fire attack |language=en |work=English.Mathrubhumi |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/ib-nia-confirm-terror-links-behind-kozhikode-train-fire-attack-1.8461865}}</ref> Later, in September 2023, the [[National Investigation Agency]] filed a chargesheet against the main suspect in which they accused him of committing jihad and being motivated by extremist clerics based in Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-30 |title=Elathur train arson case: NIA files chargesheet, says Shahrukh Saifi is an extremist |url=https://english.mathrubhumi.com/news/kerala/elathur-train-arson-case-nia-files-chargesheet-says-shahrukh-saifi-is-an-extremist-1.8948187 |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=English.Mathrubhumi |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-09-30 |title=Kerala train arson case: NIA files charge sheet against sole accused |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/kerala-train-arson-case-nia-files-charge-sheet-against-sole-accused-101696072855914.html |access-date=2023-09-30 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-30 |title=NIA chargesheet on Kozhikode train arson case terms it a jihadi act |work=The Statesman |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/india/nia-chargesheet-on-kozhikode-train-arson-case-terms-it-a-jihadi-act-1503227085.html}}</ref><br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Elathur train attack, 2023}}<br />
[[Category:Terrorist incidents in India in 2023]]<br />
[[Category:Arson attacks on vehicles in India]]<br />
[[Category:Railway accidents and incidents in Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:Arson in 2023]]<br />
[[Category:2023 fires in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Islamic terrorism in India]]<br />
[[Category:Islamic terrorist incidents in 2023]]<br />
[[Category:Terrorist incidents on railway systems in India]]<br />
[[Category:Railway accidents in 2023]]<br />
[[Category:2023 murders in India]]<br />
[[Category:21st-century mass murders in India]]<br />
[[Category:2023 mass murders]]<br />
[[Category:Child murder in India]]<br />
[[Category:Crime in Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:2023 in Kerala]]<br />
[[Category:April 2023 in India]]<br />
[[Category:April 2023 crimes in Asia]]<br />
[[Category:Suburbs of Kozhikode]]<br />
[[Category:History of Kozhikode]]<br />
[[Category:Terrorist incidents involving incendiary devices]]<br />
[[Category:Train and rapid transit fires in India]]</div>Edith2564080