In a suspected case of rape and murder, the half-naked body of a 25-year-old woman was found floating in a pond on the foothills of the famous Govardhan hillock in Mathura, police said on Monday.
The woman’s hands and feet were tied with a dupatta and her mouth was gagged with a piece of cloth, the police said.
The victim’s identity was yet to be established, the police said, adding that the body was fished out of the water body — locally known as Govind Kund — on Sunday.
“The mystery of her death will be solved after post-mortem,” Deputy Superintendent of Police Ram Mohan Sharma said.
The ‘kund’ is located on the ‘Talhati ki Parikrama’ close to the Govardhan hillock, the police added.
A large number of devotees who perform ‘parikrama’ (circumambulation) of the hillock pass the water body on their route.
Sources said that circumstantial evidence suggested that the woman was gang-raped before being murdered and her body was thrown in river in a semi-nude condition.
Further investigations are on in the matter.
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old girl was allegedly stabbed in the neck by a boy for spurning him, police said on Monday.
The victim was out of danger, police said, adding a hunt was on to nab the accused and two other boys for helping him.
"We received information that a 15-year-old girl was attacked by a sharp object in her neck on Sunday evening. Three boys are said to be involved in this attack. After attacking the girl, the boys immediately left the spot. It has come to light that the girl had stopped talking to the accused, Harishchandra, and after being frustrated with the situation he took this action. We have registered a First Information Report (FIR) in this matter and launched a hunt for the accused who are absconding from their houses. Strict legal action will be taken after arresting them," Superintendent of Police of Chandauli, Ankur Aggarwal, said.
The local police reached the spot after receiving information from the villagers and admitted the injured teenager to a private hospital for treatment. "The girl, a resident of Mathurapur village in Kandwa police station area, was having a love affair with her brother-in-law's brother. Due to this, the accused Harishchandra was getting angry with Sunita. Harishchandra called her near the village along with his two companions and stabbed her in the neck with a sharp weapon and fled the spot,” another police official informed.
Meanwhile, two army men were arrested for allegedly raping two women inside a coach at a railway station yard in Jhansi, police said on Monday.
Naik Sandeep Tiwari of Siwan and Hawaldar Suresh Rawat of Rishikesh were arrested on Sunday, Superintendent of Police (Railway) Mohammad Mushtaq said.
Another accused, Ravindra from Punjab, is absconding, he added.
According to police, the trio took the two women to an army coach at the railway station yard and raped them. According to GRP Circle Officer Mohammad Naeem Ansari, the two victims alleged that one army personnel asked them for their mobile phone, claiming that he had lost his phone. He then started talking to the women and took them to the railway coach parked on platform 7. There were two other army personnel inside the coach who then raped them and later asked them to leave. They did not return the mobile phone to the victims.
The victims reached the GRP police station and lodged a report against army men Sandeep, Ravindra and Suresh, two of whom have been detained while one is absconding.
GRP officials inspected the railway coach and informed the Military Police about the incident. An FIR was also registered under sections 376 (rape), 120 B (conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code and other sections, the SP said.
