Elathur: Three passengers, including a one-year-old child and a woman, were found dead on railway tracks while eight others sustained burn injuries after an unidentified person set a co-passenger on fire on board an Kannur-bound express train in Kerala late on Sunday.
According to media reports, the incident took place inside the D1 coach of Alappuzha-Kannur Executive Express around 9.45 pm when an unidentified man, who later managed to escape, poured an inflammable liquid on a co-passenger and set him on a fire resulting in burn injuries to at least eight persons. The injured were shifted to hospitals, including the Kozhikode Medical College, for treatment after passengers pulled the emergency chain. The condition of two is stated to be critical.
When the train reached Kannur, a few passengers found that a woman and a child were missing after the incident. It was presumed that they had jumped off the train in panic.
“We have started a probe and are working on different leads,’’ Kozhikode city police commissioner Rajpal Meena told the media.
Meanwhile, forensic experts have reached the spot where the bodies were found.
(With inputs from PTI, ANI)
