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Dalit woman’s body found in Banda village; rape before murder suspected
The daughter told the police that the brother of the chakki owner, Raj Kumar Shukla, Bauwa, opened the door after 30 minutes, ostensibly while intoxicated.
KANPUR The Dalit woman who was murdered and whose dismembered body was discovered in a Banda village on Tuesday had allegedly been sexually assaulted. Her husband has filed a formal complaint against three individuals on Wednesday, one of whom was the owner of the local “chakki” (mill) where she was employed prior to her demise.
The 40-year-old victim had gone to chakki on Tuesday for mud plastering; later, her severed head was found close to the mill. A little ahead was her blood-stained sari piece, along with her head and one hand.
Initially, it was assumed that she died after becoming entangled in the chakki belt at first. However, her daughter claimed that when she visited the chakki at 2:30 PM, it was closed. Despite her best efforts, she was unable to open the door after hearing her mother’s scream.
The daughter told the police that the brother of the chakki owner, Raj Kumar Shukla, Bauwa, opened the door after 30 minutes, ostensibly while intoxicated. Upon entering, she discovered that Raj Kumar Shukla and his sibling Ram Krishna Shukla were also present. Mother’s body, in three pieces, lay not far away.
The daughter wonders how could her mother become entangled in the chakki belt when every day, between 2 pm and 5 pm, the electricity goes off in the village. SHO Girva police station Sandip Tiwari has said that the police have registered a case of murder and rape against three persons named in the FIR. “The post-mortem has been conducted by a panel of two doctors and the entire process has been video recorded. Police are making efforts for arrest of accused,” he said.
However, according to the statement made public by the accused, Sohan Babu, the victim’s husband, is their “bataidaar” of four bighas of land, which indicates that a large amount of land has been leased and Shuklas will split the profits equally. Raj Kumar Shukla said in a statement, “She was called to help me plaster the Chakki room with mud, and she left after doing her work.” Meanwhile, on Thursday, leaders of a few political party met with SP Banda Ankur Agarwal and asked that the case be handled strictly.
