Bhubaneswar, Nov. 20: The probe into the fire incident that left three express trains gutted at Puri railway station on November 12 indicates that the accused might have been involved in similar cases in Hardwar and Gaya earlier this month.

Ramachandran Subash, 27, a native of Tamil Nadu, was today brought to Bhubaneswar by the Government Railway Police (GRP) for further interrogation.

Sources said while one compartment of a Delhi-bound train was gutted in fire at Hardwar station on November 4, a similar incident took place in Gaya on the same day. Therefore, officials of the divisions concerned are likely to reach Bhubaneswar shortly to ascertain the involvement of Subash in those incidents.

A team headed by a deputy superintendent of police, GRP, today started grilling Subash in Bhubaneswar from around 10am. It continued till late in the night.

Subash is likely to undergo a lie-detection test at the State Forensic Laboratory in Bhubaneswar on the suspicion that the accused could be linked to some terrorist outfits.

While being produced in a court in Puri on Wednesday, the accused told reporters that Uttam, his friend in Calcutta, had introduced him to 4-5 suspicious-looking people, who spoke Bengali.

The GRP officials are finding it difficult to crack the case because of the incoherent statements of the accused.

"He is changing his statement frequently. Moreover, most of the time he is keeping mum though we have taken the help of interpreters," said a GRP official.

Subash was arrested on November 13 in connection with the train fire incident in Puri. The police had seized a matchbox, blades and a knife from him.

Fire had broken out in two bogies of the New Delhi-Puri Nandankanan Express, while two coaches of the Tirupati-Puri Express were gutted. Subsequently, fire had spread to a general compartment of the Puri-Howrah Express stationed at platform No. 6.