A 13-year-old boy died after apparently being dragged under a moving passenger train while attempting to film a social media reel near Talupalli village in Odisha’s Boudh district, police said. The incident occurred around 8.05 pm on Friday under the jurisdiction of Baunsuni police station.
The boy was reportedly trying to record another video on the railway track when the Balangir-Purunakatak passenger train, travelling towards Boudh station, passed through the area. Investigators suspect that a part of the train may have become entangled with his body as it crossed the track, according to the report.
The boy was wearing grey pants and a blue T-shirt. Local residents said he had returned home from a tuition class before taking money from his father and going to a shop. His parents later noticed that he was missing. Police said they were still investigating how he reached the railway track.
“We are yet to ascertain how he ended up on the railway track,” Mahendra Behera, inspector-in-charge of Baunsuni police station, was quoted as saying.
Behera said the boy was the same child who had appeared in a video circulated last year. The video showed him lying between railway tracks while a train passed overhead, with another minor reportedly filming the stunt. The incident had previously drawn the attention of the Railway Protection Force, the Government Railway Police and local police.
According to police, the boy and the other minor involved in the earlier video were counselled after it surfaced in June last year. His parents were also warned about the potentially fatal consequences of repeating such acts. The Railway Protection Force registered a case against the two minors on July 6 last year.
Railway authorities also conducted an awareness campaign in the area after the earlier video became public. The campaign cautioned young people against entering railway tracks or attempting dangerous actions for online popularity.
The latest death has again brought attention to the safety risks around active railway lines, where moving trains, limited reaction time and the absence of safe clearance can turn a stunt into a fatal incident. Unlike controlled filming locations, railway tracks remain operational transport infrastructure, and people on or between the rails may not be visible to train crews in time to prevent a collision.
Police handed the boy’s body over to his parents on Saturday after a postmortem examination, Behera said. The investigation into the circumstances of the incident is continuing.
