After taking over the case of a conspiracy to blow up the Kalindi Express train with an LPG cylinder, the National Investigating Agency (NIA) initiated the investigation and will soon interrogate a key suspect in the case, Shahrukh Khan.
The Uttar Pradesh Police handed over the accused to the investigating agency. The history sheeter was nabbed by the UP ATS in connection with the attempt to derail the train. He was found near the crime site at the time of the incident.
According to reports, while six suspects were released following interrogation, Shahrukh Khan, the main suspect, was detained.
The investigations in the case, so far, have revealed evidence of terrorist linkages in the conspiracy to overturn the train in Kanpur.
The investigation by several agencies revealed that the accused, who plotted to overturn the train, could be a self-radicalised individual with suspected ties with ISIS’s Khorasan module.
On Sunday last, the conspiracy to derail the Kalindi Express train en route to Bhiwani from Kanpur near Munderi village of Shiprajpur area of Kanpur came to light after an LPG cylinder was found kept in the middle of the railway track. But thanks to the alert loco pilot, a major accident was averted.
During the investigation, a bottle filled with petrol was also recovered near the railway track.
According to highly placed sources investigating the incident, many revelations have been made about Shahrukh. “Shahrukh opened a Facebook account with a fake identity of Raja. He shared his picture on social media with a saffron towel around his neck.
It has also come to light that Shahrukh used to raise ‘Jai Shri Ram’ slogans during election rallies. After creating the social media ID with the name Hindu, he shared content related to Hindutva and his pictures in saffron gamchha, the sources said.
The police also accessed CCTV footage of the time when Kalindi Express collided with the cylinder on the track from a toll, which is just 200 meters away from the crime spot. In the footage, two suspects can be seen coming on a bike. They stop before crossing the toll while talking to each other. Agencies are searching for these bike riders.
On Wednesday, the Forensic Department recreated the crime scene on the spot and collected more evidence.