Puri/Bhubaneswar: The sub-divisional judicial magistrate (SDJM) court, Puri on Thursday transferred the railway station fire case to Bhubaneswar.
Ramchandran Subhas, the accused in the Puri incident, will be brought to Bhubaneswar on Friday for further questioning, sources said. The accused had reportedly admitted during police interrogation to have committed the crime by igniting inflammable materials, officials said.
“He is the major suspect in the case and we’ll interrogate him to know about his modus operandi,” a police officer said.
“Officials of National Investigation Agency (NIA) will also be present during questioning as the central agency has taken over the case,” stated he.
The fire engulfed at least five empty coaches of three trains in Puri railway station on November 12.
Officials probing the incident said though the incident was suspected to be a case of sabotage, it could not be confirmed in the absence of eye witnesses and strong evidence.
Investigating officials believe the ‘admission’ of Subhas about his involvement in the Puri case during custodial interrogation will help them to elicit more information from him about the case once he is brought to Bhubaneswar and subjected to further questioning.
But the confidence of the probe officials could be misplaced in view of the fact that Subhas had reportedly dodged many queries during his recent polygraph test at the State Forensic Laboratory where he faced 90-odd preset questions.