Badaun rape-murder: Priest sent to 10-day judicial custody

A 50-year-old anganwadi worker was gang-raped and murdered by a temple priest and his two aides in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district on January 3.

A local court on Friday remanded the key accused in the Badaun gang rape and murder case in judicial custody till January 18. The 53-year-old accused, who was in hiding for four days, was arrested late on Thursday.

Late on Thursday, the police nabbed Satya Narain (53), the priest, from the fields ina village in Ughaiti area of Badaun. (AP FILE)

“The priest (main accused) has been sent to judicial custody till January 18. The other two accused had already been arrested and sent to jail,” Vijay Yadav, Assistant Prosecution Officer, CJM Court, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

A 50-year-old anganwadi worker was gang-raped and murdered by a temple priest and his two aides in Uttar Pradesh’s Badaun district on January 3.

According to the FIR lodged by the woman’s family members, she went to a temple located on the outskirts of her village on the afternoon of January 3 and did not return.

The same night, the three accused allegedly gang-raped the woman, fractured her leg and ribcage, before leaving her bleeding to die. Later, they brought her body to her house and told the family that she fell into a dry well on the temple premises. The post-mortem report has confirmed rape, a rib fracture and damage to the left lung due to heavy force.

The two accomplices, Jai Pal alias Jaspal and Vedram Pal, were arrested under charges of gang rape and murder on January 5, while the priest remained absconding for fourdays. He also had a bounty of ₹50,000 on his head.

Late on Thursday, the police nabbed Satya Narain (53), the priest, from the fields ina village in Ughaiti area of Badaun.

Narain, however, allegedly kept changing his statements before the police. “Satya Narain avoided giving direct answers to the questions related to the incident. He changed his statements a couple of times. Our focus now is to question the three accused individually about the sequence of events on the day of the incident,” said a senior police officers familiar with the development of the case.