CHENNAI: Investigators have intensified their probe in the city into the gruesome discovery of a dismembered body of a man inside the Chennai-Delhi Tamil Nadu Express when it reached in Agra, with fresh evidence pointing to Chennai as the starting point of the crime trail.

The decomposed body, with the head and limbs missing, was found packed inside a red trolley suitcase in a general coach of the train at Agra Cantt railway station on August 5.

Passengers alerted railway authorities after noticing a foul smell and blood seeping from the luggage. The Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF) recovered the suitcase and sent the remains for post-mortem. A slip, found on the plastic wrapping, prompted investigators to dispatch a special team to Chennai.

GRP has been browsing over 350 CCTV footages trying to locate the handlers of the suitcase. According to preliminary findings, CCTV footage from Central railway station showed a man and a woman arriving together with the red suitcase. The duo placed the luggage inside a general coach of the train before leaving the station separately.

Police have also recovered a carry-bag belonging to a city-based retail chain in which the body parts had been wrapped. Billing receipts found inside the suitcase are being examined to identify the purchaser and establish the victim’s identity.

Investigators believed the suitcase was loaded onto the train at Central station nearly two days before it was discovered in Agra. CCTV footage from stations along the train’s route is also being reviewed to reconstruct its movement.

Forensic experts have been roped in for DNA profiling and other scientific testing. Meanwhile, the city police are scrutinising recent missing person complaints to identify the victim.