The mutilated and decomposed body of a 19-year-old Class XII boy, who was named in the FIR as the prime accused in the rape and murder of a 15-year-old Dalit girl from a village in Kurukshetra district, was found in the Bhakhra Canal along the Karnal-Kurukshetra border late on Tuesday. Kurukshetra police said the body appeared to be three-four days old. With the recovery of the accused youth’s body that was identified by his parents from a tattoo on his arm, honour killing is being suspected into the rape-murder case.
Police had earlier launched a hunt to nab the accused who was alleged to have abducted the Class X girl from Kurukshetra when she had gone to attend a tuition class on January 9. The half-naked body of the girl was found on Saturday from near the bank of a canal in a village in Jind district after she had gone missing last Tuesday.
“On the complaint of the girl’s parents, we were treating the youth as a suspect for kidnapping. His body was found yesterday night from a canal near Jyotisar. Though there were no visible injury marks, the post-mortem will reveal the exact cause of his death,” Kurukshetra Superintendent of Police Abhishek Garg told PTI over phone.
Asked about the allegations levelled by the girl’s family that local police did not immediately act upon the complaint lodged with them when the girl had gone missing, the Kurukshetra SP said the SHO concerned had been placed under suspension.
Police had earlier said they believe the number of accused in the crime could be more than one. However, with the body of the youth being found, the mystery of how the girl reached 100 km away from her home in Jind district where her body was found has further deepened. “It is an ongoing investigation. We have also detained a few persons. Our teams are investigating the case from all angles,” the SP said.
The girl was brutally assaulted, her private parts mutilated and some of the vital organs ruptured, police had said earlier. The incident triggered nationwide outrage, with the Opposition Congress slamming the Manohar lal Khattar Government over its alleged failure to ensure safety and security of women.