E-Paper
Aspiring nurse kidnapped, killed by e-rickshaw driver: Cops
The victim had left her house for a job interview in a private hospital in Krishna Nagar when she was reportedly abducted while boarding the e-rickshaw of the accused, say police
LUCKNOW Neck, face, head injuries and broken teeth were the signs of torture a 24-year-old aspiring nurse went through before being killed on Monday allegedly by an e-rickshaw driver. Rape attempt was also suspected, said police officials on Tuesday.
The woman’s body was found in the bushes on a deserted stretch in a village under Banthra police station limits here on Monday afternoon. The victim had left her house in Sarojini Nagar for a job interview in a private hospital in Krishna Nagar when she was reportedly abducted while boarding the e-rickshaw of the accused Roop Prakash. He drove her to a deserted spot where he allegedly tried to rape her and killed her after facing resistance.
After getting a nursing degree, the woman was looking forward to a job to support her family financially. Her mother and brother were the breadwinners after the death of her father years ago.
The accused had initially misled cops saying three other people committed the crime. Initial investigation, however, revealed that the e-rickshaw driver was involved in similar crime in the past. He confessed to committing the crime alone, said Kuldeep Dubey, inspector in-charge of Banthra police station.
“The post-mortem report of the victim stated the death was due to smothering and no sexual assault was found,” said Vineet Jaiswal, DCP (south). However, it is suspected that rape was attempted by the accused.
Dubey said Roop Prakash was arrested for sodomising and murdering a nine-year-old boy in 2017 and had come out on bail after over three years. He was a juvenile when he was accused of sodomy and murder and hence remained in a juvenile home after being arrested.
Women prime target of criminals
An analysis of crimes reported in Lucknow over the last three weeks reflects a rising trend in violence against women.
The body of an 18-year-old girl was found hanging from a tree near a brick kiln at Gulab Khera on Sunday. On July 5, a 60-year-old woman Nafees Fatima was murdered in her flat in Shaktinagar after being robbed of ₹3 lakh by assailants. Her sacked driver and his two allies were the accused in the case, said police.
On June 7, a 14-year-old girl was allegedly killed by a 16-year-old boy in Lucknow. The alleged incident took place in Takrohi village under Indira Nagar police station. The minor accused, who hanged the body of the girl from a ceiling fan to make it appear as a case of suicide, was taken into custody for interrogation, police added. The police denied the family’s allegation that the girl was also raped.
A 25-year-old woman was allegedly chased and assaulted by a jilted lover in full public view in Saadatganj area on June 26. The accused Sadman Abdul, 27, was arrested after the victim registered an FIR against him, said AK Mishra, SHO, Saadatganj police station.
A woman in Gomti Nagar’s Viram Khand area had a harrowing experience recently when a youth, who was stalking her, pulled her chain and pushed her to the ground and fled.
