Vizianagaram railway station, one of the stations where the railway police are checking CCTV footage after the death of a student from Assam who had boarded the Vivek Express at Visakhapatnam.
| Photo Credit: Basheer
A 21-year-old student from Guwahati who had called her family from a train to say she felt unsafe among drunken men in her coach was found dead beside the railway tracks in Andhra Pradesh’s Srikakulam district on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). The railway police suspect she fell from the running train; her family, however, alleges she was murdered.
Srikakulam Superintendent of Police K.V. Maheswar Reddy has formed special teams along with the Government Railway Police (GRP) to trace the men who were reportedly involved. Her body was found near Boddepalli, between the Amadalavalasa and Ponduru railway stations.
Himashree Boro had come to Visakhapatnam to participate in a dance competition and was returning to Guwahati on the Kanyakumari-Dibrugarh Vivek Express, which she boarded at about 12.15 a.m. on October 6. Because she had to write an examination in Guwahati, she was returning alone while her friends stayed back in Visakhapatnam. She reportedly objected to a few passengers drinking in the coach and recorded them on her mobile phone. She then called her parents and told them about threats from male passengers in the coach.
The coach was packed, and she could not get help from the GRP or train ticket examiners, the police said. Later, her phone was switched off, but the footage remained on it. Her luggage was found intact in coach S2. Many passengers had boarded the coach without reservations, which the police said was another reason for the delay in identifying the men.
What the railways say
A complaint of misbehaviour with a woman passenger on the train was received on the Rail Madad portal on October 6, and the Railway Protection Force (RPF) at Srikakulam Road station searched its general and sleeper coaches but could not find her, the Northeast Frontier Railway said in a statement. CCTV footage at Visakhapatnam station showed her boarding coach S2.
“As per preliminary enquiry by GRP, Palasa, it is prima facie suspected that the deceased might have fallen from the running train,” the statement said. The GRP at Palasa and the RPF at Srikakulam have registered separate cases. Statements of passengers in the coach are being recorded, and CCTV footage at Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam is being checked.
Family alleges murder
Her family members, who reached Srikakulam, identified the body and urged Mr. Maheswar Reddy to take stern action against those responsible for her death. Her friends also reached Srikakulam and said they had requested her not to travel alone as it would not be safe. They feared that the men who had argued with her might have thrown her from the train. A sister-in-law told PTI in Guwahati that the family had called the railway helpline after her calls and had been told the RPF was being sent to check on her. “But we never heard back about her being safe,” she said.
Srikakulam police officials said they were waiting for the post-mortem report and would act swiftly. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed shock over the death and requested the Andhra Pradesh government to investigate the case and act against those responsible. Students of B. Barooah College in Guwahati, where she studied, held a protest demanding a thorough investigation.
(With inputs from PTI)
Published – October 09, 2026 12:28 pm IST
