The body of a 20-year-old woman was found beside the railway tracks between Patipukur and Dum Dum on Thursday morning.

The woman was later identified as Kakoli Mondal, a second-year student of the Academy of Fine Arts.

Around 11.20am, local residents spotted the body near the tracks, a few hundred metres from where Rizwanur Rahman’s body was found last year, said an officer of Government Railway Police (GRP).

The residents alerted Dum Dum GRP, who sent the body to NRS Hospital.

“She was probably run over by a train. It appears to be a case of accidental death but we haven’t found any witnesses,” said an investigating officer. “It is also possible that Kakoli jumped in front of an approaching train. We have started an unnatural death case and sent the body for post-mortem,” he added.

A preliminary probe revealed that the resident of Kalyani, clad in a salwar kameez, had suffered deep injuries on her forehead and in the left ear. Police found a mobile phone near the body.

“Her forehead was smashed and blood was trickling from her left ear. There were no other injury marks on her body. We are also checking the call details on her mobile phone,” the officer said.

Kakoli left home at 9am on Thursday.

Usually she would board a local train to Dum Dum and then take the Metro to reach the Academy of Fine Arts, the officer added.

“It’s unlikely that she fell from a train. Someone would have noticed it and reported it to us,” he pointed out.

“We are trying to find out whether Kakoli was having an affair,” said another officer.