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Chandigarh: Woman murdered, naked body found in bushes
The victim, a 40-year-old mother of three, went missing the previous evening; naked body found in bushes near her house in Maloya; Chandigarh Police have not ruled out sexual assault
Two days after a woman was raped in an auto-rickshaw in the heart of the city, the naked body of a woman — with her mouth gagged — was found in the bushes a few metres from her house in Maloya on Wednesday morning.
The victim, a 40-year-old mother of three, had gone missing about 8pm on Tuesday, after being dropped at the bus stand in Maloya by her husband. Police have registered a case of murder, but has not ruled out sexual assault. The postmortem report is awaited.
The two heinous crimes against women — Maloya woman’s murder and a Kolkata woman’s rape in an auto at Sector 17 — have surfaced at a time public movement is restricted in view of the Covid-19 surge and increased police presence is expected to enforce the night curfew and other curbs in the city.
The police control room got a call around 9:25am on Wednesday, after a passerby spotted the Maloya woman’s body lying in the bushes. Sources said socks were stuffed in victim’s mouth to ensure she could not make any noise.
The listless body was rushed to Government Multi Speciality Hospital (GMSH), Sector 16, to confirm death. It has been kept in the mortuary, and the exact cause of death would be known after postmortem.
Meanwhile, a case has been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code at the police station in Maloya.
Had gone to market to buy ration
The woman is survived by her husband, two daughters and a son. The family belongs to Haryana and has been staying in Maloya for many years.
Her husband, 45, who plies an auto-rickshaw, told police that he had dropped her off at the bus stand in Maloya around 8pm on Tuesday, as she wanted to buy ration for the house. But when he returned after sometime, he could not find his wife. He along with his nephew searched for her, and about 10pm they approached police with a missing person complaint.
“Police told us to wait for about an hour. After we could not find her, we again went to the police station and got a complaint lodged,” he said.
Clothes found at a distance, no external injury
Cops privy to the investigation said there was no major visible external injury on the woman’s body. However, looking at the condition of the body, they are not ruling out sexual assault. The clothes of the woman were found a few metres away from the body.
“We are investigating all angles. The exact cause of death would be clear after postmortem,” said Kuldeep Singh Chahal, senior superintendent of police, Chandigarh.
Police are questioning drug addicts in the area as well as the victim’s family members. Senior officials in Chandigarh Police said that, as of now, the involvement of a family members or someone known to the woman cannot be ruled out.
