Kozhikode. In a horrific incident, three bodies, including that of an infant, were found on the railway tracks at Elathur, near Kozhikode in Kerala, on Sunday night. The discovery was made after an unidentified man set fire inside a moving train, the Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express, in the D1 coach, leaving at least nine passengers with burns.
According to witnesses, the suspect had two bottles of petrol, which he poured over passengers before lighting a fire without any provocation. A witness also claimed that the suspect had attempted to set a woman passenger on fire. Panic ensued, and a passenger applied the emergency brake by pulling the chain, which led to all the injured being rushed to hospitals.
Fellow passengers had raised suspicion of at least two missing persons – a woman and an infant – who they presumed had jumped off the train in panic. However, their bodies were discovered at least four hours after the incident over the Korappuzha Bridge near the Elathur railway station. The third body found was that of a man.
The suspect, who triggered the commotion and attacked passengers, is yet to be found, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear. At least four of the injured have been shifted to the Intensive Care Units (ICU) of the Medical College Hospital and a private hospital in the city, with the condition of at least two being serious.
