KOCHI: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday took over the probe into the April 2 Elathur train arson attack case. In the FIR it filed in NIA Court in Kochi, the agency retained all the offences charged by the state police against Shaheen Bagh resident Shahrukh Saifi, the sole accused, under various sections of the IPC and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Sources said the FIR, filed by NIA senior prosecutor Arjun Amabalapatta before NIA-I court judge K Kamanees, said Saifi committed the “terrorist act to strike terror in people’s minds”, which led to three deaths. NIA took over the probe on the directive of Union Home Affairs Ministry.
It will soon apply for a production warrant to bring Saifi before the court in Kochi and seek his custody for detailed interrogation.
Saifi, who was produced in a court in Kozhikode by the special investigation team of Kerala police on Tuesday, was shifted to Viyyur Central Jail. NIA will probe his terrorism links. The agency’s focus will be on unearthing the support Saifi received to carry out the attack.
NIA to check if online handler guided Saifi
The probe by the 18-member SIT constituted by state police chief Anil Kant and supervised by ADGP M R Ajith Kumar, had revealed that Saifi was highly radicalised. He used to watch hardline videos and read radical literature. NIA will check whether he was guided by any online handler to carry out the attack.
NIA will also be handed over all the evidence collected by the state police. The agency will be examining the digital evidence especially his emails, social media accounts, mobile phones and electronic gadgets to find his online and offline activities. Currently, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attack.