Andhra Pradesh Police deploys drones, dog squads to probe Assamese student’s death

An Andhra Pradesh Police Special Investigation Team (SIT), assisted by forensic experts, clues teams, dog squads and drones, is investigating the death of Assamese student Himashree Boro, whose body was found near a railway track in Srikakulam district on October 7.

According to an official release issued on October 9, Boro’s body was found near Penubarthi village, on the right side of the railway tracks between Vizianagaram and Srikakulam Road.

The Superintendent of Police, Srikakulam, along with the SIT, visited the scene and conducted enquiries. Teams from the Regional Forensic Science Laboratory (RFSL), clues unit, dog squads and drone teams searched the crime scene and areas along the railway track for evidence, the release said.

Boro, who was pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Guwahati, had arrived in Visakhapatnam on August 16 as part of a 10-member dance group comprising two men and eight women. The group was staying in Pendurthi, Visakhapatnam, and reportedly earning around Rs 2,000 per person per day.

Five members of the group had returned to Assam, while the remaining five stayed back, the release said.

Missed train, late-night journey

According to the police account, Boro attempted to return to Assam on October 6 but missed the Silchar Express. She stayed at the railway station and later boarded the delayed Vivek Express, which was scheduled to arrive at 11.50 pm.

She contacted her college friend Jyothi Chowdari for assistance with ticketing. Chowdari, in turn, contacted their schoolmate Eswar, a student of Raghu Engineering College, who asked his friend Abhinash to help because of the distance.

Abhinash reached Visakhapatnam Railway Station and procured a general ticket for Boro, the release said.

The Vivek Express arrived at around 1.30 am. According to the police account, the ticket collector declined Boro’s request for a berth in a third AC coach, while two AC coach attendants allegedly demanded Rs 4,000 without assuring her a berth.

Boro subsequently boarded an overcrowded, moving train coach alone at around 2.39 am on October 7, the release said.

Friend alerted after call about alleged misbehaviour

During the journey, Boro called Chowdari and complained about alleged misbehaviour by some boys. The call was later disconnected, according to the release.

Chowdari immediately informed their classmate Anoop Tiwari, who lodged a complaint through Railway Helpline 139.

When the train reached Srikakulam Road Railway Station at around 3.56 am, Railway Assistant Sub-Inspector V Aruna and other personnel searched the front and rear sections of the coach but could not locate Boro, the release said. An alert was subsequently issued to other stations, including Palasa Railway Station, to check on the complaint.

Railway police later inspected the train and recovered Boro’s luggage from the S2 coach. A co-passenger reportedly told the police that she had “fallen from the running train”, according to the release.

A team of doctors has conducted a postmortem examination, the release added, while the investigation continues to establish the circumstances surrounding her death.

The police have not announced a final conclusion on how Boro died. The SIT is continuing its investigation and examining evidence gathered from the railway track and the train.