Assam Dancer, 20, Found Dead Near Andhra Railway Track, Cremated

The 20-year-old tribal woman from the Bonda area on the outskirts of Guwahati, whose body was found near a railway track in the Srikakulam district of Andra Pradesh on October 7, reached her home on Saturday evening and was cremated.

While the Andhra Pradesh Police Special Investigation Team (SIT), along with forensic experts, a clues team, dog squads and drone teams, is investigating the death of this dancer from Assam who had gone there for a performance, the family has claimed that she was murdered.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has earlier this week written to  Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urging  their intervention and  impartial and time-bound investigation into the circumstances surrounding the 20-year-old's death.

The woman had arrived in Visakhapatnam on August 16 as part of a 10-member dance group comprising two men and eight women.

The group was based in Pendurthi, Visakhapatnam, and reportedly earned around Rs 2,000 per person per day. Five members had returned to Assam, while the remaining five stayed back, sources had added.

Her parents had told NDTV that the woman attempted to return to Assam on October 6 but missed her train, the Silchar Express. She remained at the railway station and later decided to board the delayed Vivek Express, scheduled to arrive at 11.50 pm.

She contacted her college friend Jyothi Chowdari for help with ticketing, who in turn alerted her schoolmate Eswar of Raghu Engineering College. As Eswar was some distance away, he asked his friend Abinash to assist the woman, Andhra Pradesh police sources added.

Abinash reached Visakhapatnam Railway Station and procured a general ticket for her. 

The Vivek Express arrived at around 1.30 am. At around 2.39 am on October 7, Boro hurriedly boarded a moving, overcrowded coach on her own, without any male companion, the release said.

She later called Jyoti and complained about the misbehaviour of some boys. The call subsequently got disconnected 

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

Railway police later inspected the train and recovered Boro's luggage from the S2 coach. A co-passenger reportedly claimed that she had "fallen from the running train", Andhra Pradesh police sources added, but back at her Guwahati residence everyone believed she was murdered.