Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Monday that his administration is working in coordination with both the railway ministry and Andhra Pradesh authorities to conduct a thorough and impartial inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death of Himashri Boro, aged 20. Himashri's body was found along the rail corridor between Dusi and Ponduru stations in Andhra Pradesh on 7 October.
A contingent from Assam Police, headed by an officer at the Inspector General rank, has been deployed to the region to support the ongoing inquiry. Sarma also disclosed that letters had been sent to Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister requesting a formal inquiry into the conditions surrounding Himashri's death, adding that he intended to continue pressing until that inquiry was carried out.
On Monday, the Chief Minister travelled to Chapaidang in Guwahati to visit the family of Himashri Boro. In a statement, Sarma said the purpose of the visit was to pay respects to those mourning her loss, and he conveyed condolences to the family, noting that no parent ought to face the death of a child. Questions from both the family and those living nearby have centred on the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Sarma stated that an IGP-level officer from Assam Police had been assigned to look into the full scope of the matter. In a letter addressed to both the railway minister and the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister on Sunday, Sarma conveyed that the incident had left Assam deeply troubled, pointing to circumstances he believed warranted an inquiry into whether the episode had unfolded under suspicious conditions.
The letter calls for an authoritative, neutral, and time-limited investigation into all relevant circumstances surrounding the woman's journey onto the train, her subsequent disappearance, and the eventual recovery of her body, with the aim of establishing a clear factual account. The letter further states that those found to have acted wrongly, if any, be identified and held accountable without delay.
Himashri had been part of a dance troupe visiting Visakhapatnam and was travelling back to Guwahati when the incident occurred. On 5 October, she boarded the Dibrugarh Vivek Express at Visakhapatnam station. A message reached her family the following day, in which she conveyed that a group of men nearby had left her feeling unsafe. Her whereabouts became unknown at that point.
Investigators located her bag inside the S2 coach of the train. Her body was subsequently found in a wooded stretch of land near Malayapuram, within Srikakulam district.
