New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a charge sheet against the sole accused in the Kerala train arson case, in which three passengers, including a child, were killed and nine others injured in April.

Shahrukh alias Shahrukh Saifi (27) is accused of committing the terror act by setting the D1 Coach of Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express on fire on 2nd April, 2023.

The NIA charge sheet, filed on Friday, says Saifi, the sole accused in the case, had thrown and sprinkled petrol on the passengers and set the bogey on fire with a lighter with the intention to kill people.

A resident of Shaheenbagh in New Delhi, Saifi had boarded the moving Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, committed the terror act, and continued to travel in the same train till Kannur, before escaping to Ratnagiri in Maharashtra, from where he was eventually arrested. He had travelled to Kerala from New Delhi on March 31 and reached the state on April 2.

The accused had purchased petrol from a petrol bunk in Shoranur and a lighter from a nearby store at Shoranur railway station.

“NIA investigations show that Saifi had chosen Kerala for the act involving terror and arson as he wanted to commit his jihadi act in a location where he would not be recognised. He had intended to return to normal life after the commission of the act, aimed at creating terror in the minds of the general public,” according to a statement issued by NIA on Saturday.

“The accused was self-radicalised through various online propaganda material available on social media in favour of violent extremism and jihad, as propagated by radical Islamic preachers of Indian and foreign nationalities. In this process, he followed radical and hardline Islamic Preachers, including those who are Pakistan-based, on social media platforms. He had committed the arson as a jihadi terror act in pursuance of the online radicalisation,” the statement added.

The case was initially registered at Kozhikode railway police station and later by Special Investigation Team, Kerala. Saifi, who also suffered burn injuries was arrested and was slapped with murder charges under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code by a district session court in Kozhikode.

He was charged with setting on fire the D1 coach of Alleppey-Kannur Executive Express, leading to the death of a child and two others. The federal agency took over the probe on April 17.

During the investigation, NIA conducted searches in 10 locations in Delhi and seized digital devices. Several witnesses were questioned, and CCTV footage from the railway station was also seized.