In a suspected case of rape and murder, the body of a 22-year-old Dalit girl was found in a mustard field in Barabanki, police said on Monday. 

She was strangled to death and there were traces of blood around the woman’s private part. The kin suspect that she was raped and then killed.

Reports said that the victim, Sonam (name changed) had gone out of the house to attend to the call of nature in the Thana Kothi area on Sunday, but when she did not return home, the family began searching, and the found her body lying in a village in the Jaitpur police station area late Sunday evening. 

As soon as the incident was reported, the police officers rushed to the spot.

The girl belongs to a poor family. 

Superintendent of Police Yamuna Prasad, who reached the spot, formed five teams to expose the incident.

Meanwhile, local Samajwadi Party MLA Gaurav Rawat, who reached the spot soon after learning about the incident, blamed police negligence for the rape and murder. He demanded justice and compensation for the victim’s family.

In a case of suicide in Mahoba, the body of a 18-year-old Dalit girl was found hanging from a tree, police said on Monday. 

However, the woman’s family alleged that she was being harassed by a youth in their locality and her body was hanged from a tree in the mountain at some distance from the Chhamhi Devi temple in a suspicious situation. 

Preeti (18) left home on Saturday afternoon to buy vegetables but did not return. Later, her family members found her body hanging from a tree in Belatal area on Sunday, said Circle Officer Rampravesh Rai. He said prima facie, it appeared to be a case of suicide.