KOCHI: Sharukh Saifi, the accused in the 2023 train arson case, committed the act believing that killing kafirs (non-believers) was the shortest route to absolution for his sins, the National Investigation Agency has said. The submission was filed in response to the bail plea moved by Saifi in NIA court last month citing delay in the trial’s commencement. The court dismissed the plea.
Saifi was arrested for pouring petrol on passengers on the Alappuzha-Kannur Express and torching the coach in April 2023 resulting in the death of three people. In his plea, Saifi claimed he was arrested on April 6, 2023, without being informed of the grounds for the arrest in writing. He argued that the autopsy report stated that people died after jumping from the train rather than from the fire. Since further investigation is ongoing, he noted there was no likelihood of the trial commencing in the near future.
However, the NIA, as quoted in the court order, said the New Delhi native felt remorse for his lifestyle and wanted to become “a true Muslim”.
For this, he turned to online platforms to learn about violent jihad as propagated by radical Islamic preachers. “He decided that the shortest way to absolution for his sins was through the killing of kafirs (non-believers), and decided to commit a crime of massacre and terror,” it said.
‘Accused committed crime to attain salvation through violent jihad’
The agency said Saifi chose to carry out his intended jihad in a place he would not be easily identified, and boarded a train to Kerala from Delhi on March 31, 2023. He arrived at Shoranur railway station on April 2, 2023, where he purchased petrol from a pump in a bottle and a lighter from a bunker shop in front of the railway station. Concealing the petrol and the lighter in his black backpack, Saifi boarded the train without a valid ticket, the NIA said.
Besides causing severe burns to nine passengers, the terror act resulted in the death of three people, including a child, who jumped off the train to escape. “The accused committed the heinous crime out of remorse, for self-reformation as prescribed by violent radical ideologists and for attaining eternal salvation through violent jihad,” the NIA said.
A writing pad recovered from his bag contained names of places in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, including Kazhakkoottam, Thiruvananthapuram, Colachel, Kanyakumari and Kovalam.
The NIA also extracted Saifi’s email and social media data. It was found he regularly watched radical Islamic preachers such as Zakir Naik and Pakistan-based preachers, including Dr Israr Ahmed, Tariq Jamil, Mufti Tariq Masood and Taimoor Ahmed.
Dismissing his bail plea, the court noted that Saifi had repeatedly made false claims about mental illness to delay the trial.
“Therefore, neither the prosecution nor the court or the system can be blamed for the delay, if any, caused. It is made clear that if the petitioner is ready to cooperate, the trial can be expedited,” the court observed.