Lucknow rape-murder: Cops detain key accused

The police on Saturday said a guard working at a premier medical institute, who has been detained, is the main accused in the brutal rape and murder of a 35-year-old woman on Wednesday night on the outskirts of Lucknow.

The police on Saturday said a guard working at a premier medical institute, who has been detained, is the main accused in the brutal rape and murder of a 35-year-old woman on Wednesday night on the outskirts of Lucknow.

The woman's naked body had been found lying in a pool of blood in Balsingkheda village of Mohanlalganj area on Thursday morning outside a deserted school, nearly 14km from her home.

A blunt object had been inserted into her body before being raped and murdered. There were injury marks on her face and private parts.

"The accused is the guard at the institute where the victim had been working for the past three years," said a senior police officer involved in the investigation.

"He alone subjected the woman to cruelty by brutally beating her up and inserting a blunt object into her body. The earlier theory that at least three persons were involved in the crime has been proved wrong," he added.

The officer said the clothes the accused was wearing on the day of crime— a red shirt and a black pant— have been recovered from his house and would be sent soon for forensic examination to corroborate the crime.

He said the guard's presence near the victim's house in Saraswati Nagar and at the crime scene has been established through electronic surveillance.

The accused had taken the woman to the school in a vehicle borrowed from his friend, a property dealer who has also been quizzed.

Besides the property dealer, the police also interrogated the guard's son and his two friends to crosscheck the confessions made by the accused.

A victim's mobile phone and the blunt object used in the crime have not been recovered yet, the officer said.

Senior superintendent of police Praveen Kumar admitted that the key suspect has been traced, but he did not divulge any further details. However, he said, the "guilty would be behind bars very soon".

The crime took place at a time when the police had heightened vigil for Clinton's visit on Thursday to Jabrauli village, barely 8km from the crime scene. Mohanlalganj inspector Kamrudeen and sub-inspector ML Verma were suspended on Friday.

The crime once again underscored chinks in women's security in the state that has gained notoriety for a surge in the number of rapes over the past few months.