CHENNAI: A partially mutilated human leg on the track caused panic among commuters at the Central Railway Station, on Thursday morning.
It was peak hour and the dismembered leg was lying on the inbound track adjoining platform no 8, and it was a railway staff who alerted the authorities, Government Railway Police (GRP) sources said.
GRP SI Kumudha after visiting the scene informed her superiors. Then, GRP Inspector R Purushothaman rushed to the spot and recovered the leg from the track.
Preliminary assessment by doctors suggested that it was a left leg of a person who sex is yet to be ascertained.
Initial investigation revealed that the leg should be that of a person who had thrown himself in front of a train arriving to the station either from other parts of the state or neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
“We have sought details regarding the suicides and accidents reported in the stations including the railway stretches between Tenali and Vijayawada”, said a senior railway police official.
“We are sure that it could either be a suicide or an accident. It appears that the leg was clinging to the engine front and had fell down while stabling in the inbound track”, the official noted.
“The leg has been sent for medical examination and for DNA testing. It will be added to the mortal remnants only after the DNA matching”, the official added. Meanwhile, rumours were doing the rounds among the passengers that a woman had been murdered and her leg alone had been dumped in the station and the rest of the body was disposed off. However, the official clarified that it was not a case of murder.
Chennai Central Railway Station handles 84 trains on a daily basis and the number will reach 105 if the weekly and special trains are included. On an average, the Station handles 4 lakh passengers a day and the numbers will go up on Mondays and weekends.