In a suspected case of rape and murder, the half-burnt bodies of two unidentified women were found wrapped in two polythene bags near a pond in Bachi village of Budaun district late on Tuesday.
The pond is located near Budaun-Kakrala road under Ushait police circle.
On Tuesday evening, locals at Bachi Jhajhrau village saw the bodies lying on the Kakrala Nauli road and informed the police.
According to police, the women were wearing salwar-suits and their faces were burnt beyond recognition. Both women were around 35 years old.
After getting information, SSP of Budaun, OP Singh, rushed to the spot along with forensic experts and additional force and initiated an investigation.
An FIR was registered against unidentified killer(s) under sections relating to murder and causing disappearance of evidence at Ushait police station.
According to police, the hands of both the women were tied and they were killed somewhere else and later the bodies were dumped near the pond.
It appears that to hide the women's identities, their faces were burnt, the bodies wrapped in polythene and dumped at the roadside, police said.
The SSP said: “We have sent the bodies for autopsy by a panel of doctors. The investigation is on. We have shared the information with police stations across the region and a breakthrough in this case is expected soon.”
Meanwhile, in Ballia district, a 25-year-old tutor was arrested for allegedly raping a minor girl student, police said on Wednesday.
The tutor was identified as Manish Pandey and he used to give tuition to a 15-year-old girl at her home. Police said he raped the minor on June 30 and also made a video of the crime. He threatened the minor girl to upload the video on the internet to exploit the minor, according to Kotwali SHO Rajeev Singh.
He also threatened to kill the girl if she reported the matter to anyone.
The arrest was made on Tuesday after the mother of the girl filed a complaint with the police. The police registered a case under sections 376 (rape) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and Section 3/4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.