Pathanamthitta: A jawan who was headed for his native Kerala on leave from Kashmir died midway his southward train journey.
The body of V Aneesh Kumar was found alongside the railway track in a village of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday.
The deceased’s family at Mannadi here alleged foul play in the mishap after they were told that Aneesh’s body had been retrieved from Amla in Betul district.
Anish, a Naik with the Madras regiment of the military, had started his 3,600-km journey down-country from his work station at Srinagar on September 3 to reach his house in south-central Kerala district of Pathanamthitta. The next day, he had changed train at Delhi, boarding Kerala Express.
That evening, at 7.43 pm, Aneesh called his family and spoke to the members. It turned out to be his parting words. For, Aneesh later became inaccessible over his mobile phone.
The next his household got information from fellow travellers that Aneesh had gone missing. By nightfall that day (September 5), one of them called Aneesh’s wife Geethu to tell her that the soldier’s luggage was found by the side of his seat on the train.
Soon, the Railway Police was informed about the matter. Its officers ensured that the luggage was handed over to Aneesh’s family waiting at Chengannur railway station the next day. Inside it was the soldier’s return ticket and an official order about his date of rejoining, according to relatives.
Aneesh, into his mid-30s, had been with the military for 18 years, and had got posting in Kashmir two-and-a-half years ago. His last stay in Kerala on official leave was in March 2017.