The headless body of an unidentified man, with his hands and legs tied up, was found in a trunk abandoned inside an unreserved compartment of the Grand Trunk Express that reached Chennai Central on Saturday morning. The train from New Delhi via Nagpur, Vijayawada reached Chennai at 6.25 a.m. on platform no. 4. Railway sources said that Railway Mail Service staffer Perumal, who was attending to the mail van behind the engine, noticed a cement coloured trunk in the next bogie. Foul smell was emanating from it.
Perumal alerted Railway Protection Force constable Selvaraj, who in turn handed over the trunk to Platform Inspector Jahangir at his office at the station.
The trunk, which was locked, was first put through a scanning machine and then RPF personnel found a headless body inside. Information was passed on to the Government Railway Police who conducted preliminary investigation and sent the body to the mortuary at the Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital. GRP Chennai Central have registered a case of murder and are investigating further. Speaking to The Hindu , V. Ponramu, Deputy Superintendent of Police, GRP, Chennai Central, said the trunk was broken open and the headless body was found sealed in a large black polythene bag. “The body was clad in a white round neck T-shirt and shorts and the hands and legs were tightly tied. Doctors who examined the corpse have said the death had occurred more than 12 hours ago and that the age of the deceased could be around 45 years. There were no signs on the trunk except for bits of a newspaper stuck to its corners,” Mr. Ponramu said.
GRP teams are in the process of identifying the deceased and ascertaining where the trunk with the body was loaded on to the train. Authorities of all stations on the route the GT Express have been alerted and the list of missing persons reported there has been sought, the DSP said.
In January 2007, the body of a youth was found in a large suitcase inside the Brindavan Express that reached Chennai Central from Bangalore. RPF personnel recovered the body folded and its neck strangulated with a jute rope. The deceased is yet to be identified
Similarly, in 2003, a trunk containing a body was found in a train that reached Chennai Central from New Delhi. Following preliminary investigations, the case was transferred to Delhi Police, police sources said.