The Government Railway Police (GRP) of the Chennai Central Railway Station are now checking with all the hospitals along the route of the Grand Trunk Express in a bid to find a clue on the headless body that arrived in the train in March this year.
According to police, they were prompted to check the hospitals as post-mortem revealed that the deceased was suffering from some serious ailment like tuberculosis. “We are checking with hospitals in Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and New Delhi if a patient with a serious illness had gone missing from the hospital,” said V. Ponramu, deputy superintendent of police, GRP, Chennai Central.
The police are also trying to find the manufacturer of the trunk in which the body was found. They are also collecting the missing persons list from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
“Special teams have also gone along the route of the Grand Trunk Express collecting missing persons list and CCTV footage of these stations. We are trying to determine if the body matches anyone on the list. In the footage, however, we have not found anything suspicious,” said Mr. Ponramu.
The police are trying to identify the body using the brand of the vest the victim was wearing. “Though the brand is manufactured in Tirupur, it is worn mainly in Uttar Pradesh, New Delhi and Mumbai,” added Mr. Ponramu.
On March 17, the body was found in an abandoned trunk in the unreserved compartment, with the hands and legs tied up. A railway mail services staff member Perumal sensed a foul smell emanating from the trunk.
He alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF), who handed over the trunk to the platform inspector. The GRP was alerted and the body was sent to the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
“The body, wrapped in a polythene bag, was clad in a white round-necked T-shirt and shorts. The age of the victim is suspected to be around 45,” said Mr. Ponramu.
