A married woman was gang-raped and hacked to death by nine miscreants in Jhabua district on Sunday night. The police registered a case of rape and murder and launched a manhunt.
There was no clue to the assailants till Monday night.
The incident was reported in Jhounsar village of the district. Body of the victim was recovered from near the jungles late in the night.
According to the police, the victim accompanied by her husband was going to her parental house in Hatyadehli village in the district. On the way, nine miscreants on three motorbikes accosted the couple and then beat up the husband.
After having bashed up the husband, the miscreants allegedly raped the victim and before leaving the place brutally murdered the woman by stabbing her more than 17 times. The killers also attempted to behead the victim, as slit-throat injuries have been witnessed on the body.
Husband of the victim Suresh told police that he was married with the victim on April 19, 2013. On Sunday morning, he was taking his wife on his bike to her parental house, when the incident took place.
When Suresh was beaten up by the miscreants, he started running in one direction; two of them chased him for a distance. He immediately reached his in-laws and narrated the whole incident. After some time, they launched a search for the woman in the jungles and at around midnight, her body was found with 17 stab injury marks.
He told police that all the nine assailants had covered their faces, so he could not see anybody’s face.
A team of forensic experts reached the spot in the morning and recovered the knife used in the crime. Jhabua SP SS Kanesh told prima facie the case seemed of murder. The police have registered a case and waiting for the port-mortem report.