A middle-aged woman was stabbed to death at her residence on Tansa Road under Kadma police station area late on Tuesday night.

Khemlata Devi (43) though was rushed by her husband Kartik Ram, a Tata Steel employee, to Tata

Main Hospital’s emergency where she was declared as brought dead. Two cellphones have been found missing from the house.

It is suspected that the victim had been sexually abused before being stabbed to death, though the police are yet to confirm about the rape angle in the murder.

The incident of the woman’s murder was discovered by Kartik who returned home from his B-shift duty at about 10.30 pm and subsequently rushed the body to the Tata Main Hospital by 10.50 pm.

Police said it to be a case of murder, but did not rule out the possibility of rape of the woman also. The police had sealed the premises of Kartik’s residence around midnight.  The gate of the residential premises was unlocked only after a team of forensic science lab reached here from Ranchi this afternoon.

There were blood on the floor and also cloth having blood stains in the front veranda of the residence.

Deputy Superintendent of Police (headquarters-II) Kailash Karmali said, “We are investigating the incident.  Unless we do not get the post-mortem report, we can speak clearly whether the woman had been raped before the murder.”

The residential quarter on the right side of Kartik’s residence was vacant. The quarter on the right side is occupied by bachelors who seldom stay there. The neighbours who stay in front of the victim’s family claimed they did not see anyone nor did hear any scream from the victim’s house.

Officer-in-charge, Kadma thana, Animesh Gupta said they are taking every effort to find out the assailant responsible for the woman’s murder.

Meanwhile in the morning, a group of relatives of the murder victim protested in front of Kadma police station, demanding arrest of the culprits involved in the murder.

A neighbour said: “I do not know why anyone will kill someone’s wife this way. The police have to find out it and punish the culprit. We used to see the woman sitting on the veranda and standing outside occasionally, but did not see her even once on Tuesday”.