Overview
- Himashri Boro, a 20-year-old student from Kamrup in Assam, went missing after boarding the Dibrugarh-bound Vivek Express from Visakhapatnam and her body was recovered near railway tracks in Srikakulam district.
- Her family says she sent a message and video saying she felt unsafe because inebriated men surrounded her and that contact was lost in the early hours of October 6.
- Rail and state police have found her bags in the train’s S2 coach, completed a post-mortem, and are examining CCTV, passenger statements and phone records to determine whether she fell or was the victim of an assault.
- The family has alleged harassment and RPF negligence while Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has written to the Union railway minister and Andhra Pradesh chief minister and deputed a senior Assam police officer to coordinate the investigation.
- The case has renewed worries about women’s safety on long-distance trains and revived scrutiny of earlier unexplained disappearances of passengers from Assam on southbound routes, which could increase pressure for operational and policing changes on crowded general coaches.