Himanta Sarma writes to Chandrababu Naidu over Assam student Himashree Boro's death
Synopsis
A 21-year-old Assam student sent a distress message to her family from inside a train coach full of men — and was later found dead in a forest near Srikakulam. Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has now written to the Andhra Pradesh CM and Railway Minister demanding a time-bound probe, as investigators weigh whether Himashree Boro fell or was pushed from the moving Vivek Express.
Key Takeaways
Himashree Boro , 21 , from Kamrup district, Assam , went missing on 6 October 2026 while travelling on the Dibrugarh Vivek Express from Visakhapatnam to Guwahati .
Her body was recovered from a forested area near Malayapuram, Srikakulam district , between Amadalavalasa and Ponduru stations.
Her family received a distress message from her on 6 October saying she feared the men around her in the compartment.
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma has written to AP CM N.
Chandrababu Naidu and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw demanding a thorough, impartial and time-bound probe.
GRP and a special Srikakulam district police team are probing whether she fell accidentally or was pushed.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has written to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, demanding a thorough and time-bound probe into the death of 21-year-old Himashree Boro, a student from Kamrup district in Assam. Himashree's body was found in Srikakulam after she went missing during a train journey on 6 October 2026, and her case has triggered deep anguish across Assam.
What Happened
Himashree, a member of a dance troupe, had travelled to Visakhapatnam for a performance and was returning to Guwahati when she boarded the Dibrugarh Vivek Express at Visakhapatnam. On 6 October, her family received a distressing message from her, in which she reportedly expressed fear about being the only woman in a crowded male-occupied compartment. She subsequently went missing.
Her bag was later recovered from the train's S2 coach, and her body was found in a forested area near Malayapuram in Srikakulam district, between the Amadalavalasa and Ponduru railway stations, in an area locals refer to as near Boddepalli.
Probe Under Way
The Government Railway Police (GRP) is currently investigating whether Himashree accidentally fell from the moving train or was pushed. The Srikakulam district police have constituted a special team alongside the GRP to identify and trace the men who were reportedly in the coach with her.
Authorities have not yet ruled out foul play, and the case is being treated with urgency given the circumstances, according to officials.
What Himanta Sarma Wrote
In his letter, Chief Minister Sarma stated that the sequence of events — Himashree's distress message, her disappearance, the discovery of her bag in the S2 coach, and the recovery of her body from a forested area — “raise a serious suspicion of foul play” and have “caused profound grief and concern in Assam.”
He urged both Chief Minister Naidu and Railway Minister Vaishnaw to order an inquiry covering every detail: her boarding of the train, her disappearance mid-journey, and the recovery of her body. “It is imperative that culprits, if any, are identified and brought to book at the earliest,” Sarma wrote.
Why It Matters
The case has raised urgent questions about passenger safety on long-distance Indian Railways trains, particularly for women travelling alone or in under-populated compartments overnight. This comes amid recurring concerns around the enforcement of ladies’ coach norms and adequate Railway Police presence on intercity expresses.
Notably, the Vivek Express, which runs between Dibrugarh and Kanyakumari, is one of India’s longest train routes, making monitoring across jurisdictions more complex. The incident underscores the need for coordinated inter-state investigation when crimes or suspicious deaths occur on railways crossing state boundaries.
What Happens Next
Both the Andhra Pradesh government and the Railway Ministry are yet to formally respond to Sarma’s letter. The GRP and special police team’s findings are expected to determine whether a criminal case is registered. Political pressure from Assam is likely to intensify should the investigation stall.
Point of View
Making accountability diffuse by design — and that structural gap is exactly what investigators must not exploit as an excuse for delay. Sarma’s letter is politically necessary, but the real test is whether the AP government and Railway Ministry treat this as a crime investigation from day one rather than an accidental death pending reclassification. If the special team’s findings are not made public swiftly, the absence of transparency will compound the family’s grief and fuel legitimate public anger.
NationPress
9 Oct 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Himashree Boro and what happened to her?
Himashree Boro was a 21-year-old student from Kamrup district in Assam who travelled to Visakhapatnam with a dance troupe. She went missing on 6 October 2026 while boarding the Dibrugarh Vivek Express to return to Guwahati, and her body was later found in a forested area near Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh.
Why has Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma written to the Andhra Pradesh CM?
Sarma wrote to AP CM N. Chandrababu Naidu and Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw demanding a thorough and time-bound inquiry into Himashree’s death. He cited a distress message she sent her family, the recovery of her bag in the S2 coach, and the circumstances of her body’s discovery as raising serious suspicion of foul play.
What is the GRP investigating in this case?
The Government Railway Police (GRP) is investigating whether Himashree Boro accidentally fell from the moving Vivek Express or was pushed. A special team of Srikakulam district police is working alongside the GRP to identify and trace the men reportedly present in her coach.
Where exactly was Himashree Boro’s body found?
Her body was recovered from a forested area near Malayapuram in Srikakulam district, between the Amadalavalasa and Ponduru railway stations, in a locality near Boddepalli, according to police.
What did Himashree Boro’s distress message say?
On 6 October, Himashree sent a message to her family expressing fear about the presence of many men around her in the compartment. She was reportedly the only woman in the coach at the time.
