A senior National Investigation Officer (NIA) officer on Saturday arrived in the State and started probe into the alleged terrorist link in the train burning case at the Puri railway station earlier this month.
NIA Superintendent of Police (SP) Prashant Kumar started interrogating Ramchandran Subhash, the lone accused in the arson case. The SP did not reveal anything to media.
From Saturday, Subhash would be on a three-day Government Railway Police (GRP) remand. Meanwhile, he was brought to Bhubaneswar from the Puri jail on Saturday amid tight security.
Earlier on Friday, the Puri Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) Court had allowed the GRP to take Subhash on the remand..
Intelligence officials, who questioned Subhash, reportedly said he had admitted his involvement in Puri-like incidents in Rishikesh-Delhi train at Haridwar and Gaya station this month. He even revealed his link with a Mumbai module.
Officials, probing into the matter, suspected that the accused may have been employed by such a group which is carrying out train arson activities across places of religious significance.
Though he could be a small link in the whole chain, the investigators are looking to identify his associates. last week, the State police had urged the Centre for an NIA probe into the Puri case.
Meanwhile, sources said, Subhash, a native of Tamil Nadu, during interrogations told the police that he had received rupees in lakhs from the members of a terror group.
Notably, a major fire had broken out at Puri railway station on November 12, in which two empty coaches, each of Nandankanan and Tirupati Express and one of Puri-Howrah Express. Subhash was arrested from the spot on the same day with a knife, a blade and a match box.