Bhubaneswar: The body of a woman without her head was found in the toilet of a compartment of the Puri-Gunpur passenger at Puri station on Wednesday morning.
While a few passengers spotted the torso of the woman lying in the train's toilet, a severed head suspected to be that of the woman was found on the rail tracks near Delang, 20km from Puri.
Government Railway Police (GRP) prima facie said that both the torso and head belonged to one woman. However, they are awaiting forensic and post-mortem reports to confirm it.
A GRP official said the train reached Puri station at around 6pm on Tuesday evening and then left for Khurda as Puri-Khurda passenger. It reached Khurda Road station at midnight. The empty train returned to Puri on Wednesday morning and was scheduled to travel to Gunpur.
"When the train was about to leave Puri, a few passengers spotted the torso in the toilet. On conducting a search, we found a knife in the toilet," said the GRP official.
The GRP is also investigating a possible sexual assault angle, as the innerwear of the woman was not intact.
"We strongly suspect that the murder was committed when the train returned empty to Puri. Besides we also suspect involvement of more than one person in the crime, as it would be difficult for an individual to detach the head with a sharp-edged weapon in the small space of train toilet," said the GRP official.
He said the woman in his 30s was wearing a saree and had a tattoo in Telugu.
"The severed head also had a few cut marks on the face. The compartment has been detached and we are trying to gather more evidence," said the GRP official.
Additional director general of police (railways) P. Acharya said they had circulated photographs to ascertain her identity.
"It appears to be a case of murder and we have started an investigation into it. The scientific and forensic team has inspected the compartment," said Acharya.
The cop said that they would also go through the CCTV footage of Palasa, Berhampur, Khurda Road and Puri stations to get clue about the woman.
"We will also interrogate technical staff of the railways to find out whether anyone had noticed the body during inspection of compartments," said a GRP official.
