Days after a 21-year-old Assamese woman was found dead near the railway tracks at Penubarthi village in Srikakulam district, Inspector General of Police (IGP), Railways, B. Raja Kumari said on Sunday that they will contact the eyewitnesses who travelled in the Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Vivek Express, adding a fresh angle to the ongoing investigation into the mysterious death of the victim, Himashree Boro.
The police teams from Assam and Andhra Pradesh, along with Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, launched a joint probe into the death of the dancer, who travelled to Visakhapatnam to participate in a dance programme. She boarded the S-2 coach with a general ticket late at night on October 5 at Visakhapatnam railway station and was found dead on October 7.
According to the preliminary investigation, the student called her friend and shared a short video in which she complained that the coach was packed with people and there was little space to move inside.
“We are trying to contact the passengers, who were eyewitnesses to the incident, to know what actually happened to Himashree [Boro]. The incident occurred between 2.30 a.m. and 3 a.m. Investigation officers are trying to find out whether the death was due to an accidental fall or any altercation with co-passengers,” Ms. Kumari told The Hindu on Sunday.
Police are also investigating various angles, including why passengers who noticed the incident did not alert the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) and why railway officials at the next station did not conduct an inquiry.
“We have sent the mobile phone of the victim, viscera samples and other evidence to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) for examination,” she said.
Meanwhile, senior RPF officials inquired into the Rail Madad complaint, reportedly lodged by the victim or her family members, response time, action taken and negligence, if any, in the case.