The Famous Railway Station Begunkodor is best known for its
The Famous Railway Station
Begunkodor is best known for its railway station (Begunkodor railway station), which belongs to the Ranchi railway division of the South Eastern Railway zone. It serves the local area, including nearby Jhalda town.
The station gained notoriety as one of India’s “haunted” railway stations:
• It opened around 1960, reportedly with efforts from local Santal community leaders (including a queen named Lachan Kumari).
• In 1967, a story spread that a station master (or railway employee) saw a woman in a white sari walking on the tracks at night. He reportedly died soon after (some versions say of shock or under mysterious circumstances), and locals believed it was due to a ghost—often described as a woman who died in a railway accident.
• Fear spread rapidly. Passengers avoided the station, staff refused to work there, and it was effectively abandoned/closed for about 42 years. It even appeared in official railway records as one of India’s “haunted” stations.9
• The station reopened in 2009 (during Mamata Banerjee’s tenure as Railway Minister). Today, it functions as a halt station with limited stops (a few trains per day), managed partly by private parties. No regular railway staff are permanently posted there at night, and some locals still share stories of eerie sightings, though trains do stop.11
In 2017, a group of rationalists spent a night at the station to investigate and debunk the haunting myth, finding nothing supernatural. Many view the story as a combination of tragedy, rumor, and superstition amplified over decades.2
Other Notes
• The town has a Rasmancha (a traditional structure, sometimes linked to local festivals or Vaishnavite culture in the region).
• It’s in a relatively underdeveloped, rural part of Purulia, with influences from Santal tribal culture.
If you’re asking because of the ghost stories, it’s a classic Indian urban legend/railway folklore tale—similar to other “haunted” spots where fear and isolation created a self-fulfilling reputation. The rational explanation points to a tragic death (possibly natural or accidental) that got mythologized.
Want more details on how to reach it, current train schedules, the full ghost story variations, or anything specific about the area.
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