Woman’s body found inside 20-inch pipe at Patna airport’s new terminal site

Faryal Rumi / TNN / Updated: May 12, 2025, 08:51 IST

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A semi-naked body of an unidentified woman, believed to be a construction worker in her mid-30s, was discovered inside a rainwater harvesting pipe at the under-construction terminal building of Jayprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna. Police were alerted after construction workers heard noises emanating from the pipes.

Woman’s body found inside 20-inch pipe at Patna airport’s new terminal site

PATNA: The semi-naked body of a woman was recovered from a rainwater harvesting pipe at the terminal building under construction at Jayprakash Narayan International Airport in Patna late on Saturday evening. The police have not yet determined the identity of the deceased, who is believed to be one of the construction workers in her mid-30s.According to the police, the body, which had injury marks, was discovered after some construction workers reported some noise coming out from the pipes on the second floor of the upcoming terminal building. Upon receiving the information, the manager started an investigation to identify the source of the noise. Engineers drilled small holes in all three pipes installed for rainwater harvesting, and inserted a camera, which found the body inside a 20-inch pipe.

Operation Sindoor

Airport police station SHO Manoj Kumar told this newspaper on Sunday that the engineers initially saw the woman's feet and alerted them. "The police and a forensic team rushed to the spot, and recovered the body of the woman after cutting open the 20-inch pipe. Clothes on the upper part of the body was missing. The police found the clothes on the top of the terminal building, near the opening of the pipe," he said, adding the body was sent to IGIMS-Patna for a postmortem examination.

Secretariat SDPO-I Anu Kumari, who had reached the spot with Patna superintendent of police (central) Sweety Shehrawat, said they were conducting investigation from all angles. "The police are questioning the construction agencies to determine her identity," she said.Kumar said they couldn't get any CCTV camera footage as the cameras at the new terminal haven't been activated yet. "Thousands of workers are engaged in the construction of the building, and it appears that the victim is one of them," the SHO said, adding the construction company has hired people from four-five different agencies. "The police have questioned two agencies so far, besides some workers, but no one recognises her."