A 20-year-old woman from Assam’s Kamrup district has been found dead beside a railway track in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district. She had travelled to Visakhapatnam as part of a dance troupe and went missing while returning home on a train.
The woman, identified as a tribal student of B Borooah College in Guwahati, joined the dance group for programmes in Visakhapatnam. She decided to return early because she had a bank examination scheduled in Guwahati on October 10.
On the evening of October 5 she tried to book a Tatkal ticket for the Silchar Express online, but the reservation was not confirmed. She then went to Visakhapatnam railway station and boarded the Dibrugarh Vivek Express (Train No. 22503) towards Assam at about 11:50 pm. The train departed at 12:10 am and was due to reach Guwahati at 9:05 am on October 7.
During the journey she told friends about the heavy crowd in the coach and said she felt afraid after finding herself surrounded mainly by male passengers. In her last message to her family she expressed fear because there were a lot of men around her.
She remained in contact with family and friends after boarding. According to the family’s complaint, the last conversation took place at 2:39 am on October 6. Her phone later became unreachable and was switched off. Her mother filed a complaint with the Government Railway Police in Guwahati and also through the Railways helpline. Relatives alerted the Railway Protection Force and Assam police.
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Railway police began searching after her bag was found in the S2 coach. Her body was later recovered from a forested area near Malayapuram in Srikakulam district. The cause of death has not yet been established. Investigators are examining the scene, the position of the body, any injuries, witness statements, CCTV footage and her communications. They are also trying to identify an unidentified man seen with her on the Visakhapatnam platform.
A post-mortem and further forensic examination are expected to help determine the circumstances of her death.
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