By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, November 28, 2015 : A team of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrived here on Saturday to probe into the serial burning of three empty trains at Puri railway station on November 12, allegedly backed by terrorists based in Jammu and Kashmir.

The team headed by NIA SP Prashant Kumar arrived here just two days after the state government wrote to the Centre for sending investigating agency to interrogate Ramachandran Subhas, a native of Tamil Nadu, – who was arrested soon after the incident.

In the meanwhile, the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate (SDJM) court at Puri On Friday had allowed the Government Railway Police (GRP) to take accused on a three-day remand.

Ramachandran, the lone accused arrested so far by the police during interrogations is learnt to have told the police that he had received rupees in lakhs from the members of a terror group and the module for arson in trains was prepared in Mumbai.

A major fire had broken out at Puri Station on November 12, in which two coaches – each of Nandankanan Express, Tirupati Express and one coach of Puri-Howrah Express – were reduced to ashes even though there were no casualties and Ramachandran was arrested from the spot on November 12, a knife, a blade and a match box were seized from him.

Earlier during interrogations Ramachandran had revealed that he had visited Gaya, Haridwar and Kharagpur with five terrorists where they set ablaze some empty trains adding that he had come to Puri alone and he was assigned to set ablaze trains in Puri, the source said.