Balasore: The railway police on Friday said one of its personnel broke the legs of a woman's body so that it could be packed and sent to her village. The railway police's admission comes amid an uproar created by the video footage on the social media showing a man standing over the woman's body and breaking its limbs. Earlier, the district administration had sought a report from the railway police as the footage went viral.
The incident hugely embarrassed the government that was struggling to fight the outrage over a tribal villager from Kalahandi district walking home with his dead wife on his shoulders on Wednesday. Balasore collector Pramod Das said, "I have got a report from the railway police and have intimated the findings to the government."
Government sources said the railway police has identified four persons (an ASI, a constable and two sweepers), who allegedly handled the body in a disrespectful manner.
The railway police also identified the dead as Haramani Barik (76), who died after she was hit by a goods train near Asimela village while crossing the railway track on Wednesday morning.
Reports said Barik was taken to the nearby Soro hospital by some locals. The Soro hospital, where Barik died, does not have any facility to conduct postmortem.
"While bringing the body to Balasore, the sweepers broke its legs to put it in a bag," said an official. Later, the woman's son identified the body and took it home for cremation.