A 20-year-old Assam college student who was returning home after travelling to Visakhapatnam as part of a dance troupe was found dead beside a railway track in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Wednesday. Her family had reported her missing on October 6 after she left a final message saying she felt unsafe due to inebriated men on the coach.
Police are investigating the suspicious circumstances surrounding the student’s death.
Himashri Boro, a resident of Bonda in Assam’s Kamrup Metropolitan district and a student of the B Barua College, was returning home alone ahead of her dance troupe because she had an examination scheduled in Guwahati on October 10.
She boarded the Vivek Express Train No. 2250 from Visakhapatnam Railway Station at around 11:50 pm on October 5, according to her mother’s complaint.
The train left the station at 12:10 a.m. on October 6 and was scheduled to reach Guwahati at 9:05 on October 7.
Soon after boarding, she told her friends about the heavy crowd in the coach and said that she was afraid after finding herself surrounded by men. In a message to her sister-in-law and the friend, she said that she was uncomfortable in the coach due to the presence of inebriated men all around her, making her feel unsafe. Boro also shared a video of the coach with a friend at Visakhapatnam.
Police said her family spoke to her last at around 1:30 pm on October 6.
Her last conversation took place at around 2:39 am with a friend on Tuesday, October 6. She told her friend that she was being harassed, according to her uncle, who spoke to local media.
Her friend called the railway helpline and informed authorities to check on her. Her uncle alleged that railway personnel did not check on the student after the complaint was lodged.
He phone then became unreachable and was switched off.
After her mother filed a complaint with the Government Railway police in Guwahati and lodged the same complaint through the helpline, RPF officials found the students' bags in the S2 coach of the train. They could not, however, locate the woman during the search.
A body later found near a railway track in Srikakulam district was identified as the missing student.
An RPF official who spoke to NDTV said that it was found near a forested area in Malayapuram in Andhra Pradesh.
The cause of her death is yet to be ascertained.
A preliminary probe by the Government Railway Police in Palasa prima facie suggested that Boro fell off the moving train. Officials are examining her injuries.
Authorities recorded statements from the passenger and the local acquaintance who accompanied Boro to the station. They also collected CCTV footage from Visakhapatnam, Vizianagara, and Srikakulam.
The RPF and GRP are coordinating with police in Assam and Andhra Pradesh in the investigation.
The family alleged negligence on the part of the railway authorities and called for a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding the woman’s disappearance and death.
