Guwahati: Two train murders within 24 hours have left Assam in a state of shock with sources saying that a psycho killer is probably on the loose.
A day after an Assam Agriculture University student was found murdered in the toilet of the Dibrugarh-Rangiya Express, the body of a middle-aged woman was recovered in the toilet of the Avadh-Assam Express on Wednesday. Police said prima facie, it appeared that both the victims were strangled to death. The semi-clad bodies were found in the same manner – with a gamusa (traditional Assamese cloth) around the neck. Both Radha Kumari (21) and Lalima Devi (48) had boarded coaches for disabled, placed at the front of the trains.
The body of Radha Kumari (21) was found at Simaluguri station in Assam’s Sivasagar district on Tuesday morning, just about 20 minutes of leaving Sivasagar station at 8:30am. She planned to visit her uncle and was to deboard the train at Furkating station in Golaghat district. Reports said her face was smeared in blood with cut marks clearly visible. Police said they are taking the help of the victim’s mother to develop a sketch of the suspect. An amount of Rs 10,000 that her mother gave her before boarding the train was also found to be missing.
On the other hand, Jorhat Superintendent of Police, Vaibhav Nimbalkar said that a possibility that the two cases are linked can be established only after investigation. The body of Lalima Devi body was found at around 2:00pm at Mariani junction of Jorhat district on Wednesday.
“Investigation is on to ascertain if there is a link between the two murders. Prima facie, strangulation is suspected to be the cause of death. The victim identified as Lalima Devi was travelling alone towards Bihar. Her son made her board the train from Dibrugarh’s Banipur railway station. He said that she got into the coach for disabled as she was limping, and the compartment is usually not crowded,” said Nimbalkar.
Reports in local media hinted of possible sexual assault before murder, which the police said they will be able to ascertain only after investigation and post-mortem report.
Locals are demanding justice and immediate arrest of the culprit. While it has been found that Sivasagar railway station is not equipped with CCTV cameras, people are questioning the railways on compromising with security of passengers.
With inputs from Gautom Borah
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