100-year-old woman murdered in Patiala, rape suspected as body half-naked

“She was lying half-naked on the cot with blood all over her mattress. We trailed the blood stains and found her clothes from a nearby field,” said her grandson. The attackers, suspected to be drug addicts, took her to the fields and might have raped her before hitting her with a wooden baton. They then dragged her back to the place where she was sleeping and fled.

A 100-year-old woman was murdered after reportedly being raped at Daun Kalan village, 15km from Patiala, in the wee hours of Monday.

Family members say she used to sleep outside the house. At 5am, a neighbour noticed blood under her cot and raised the alarm. “She was lying half-naked on the cot with blood all over her mattress. We trailed the blood stains and found her clothes from a nearby field,” said her grandson. The attackers, suspected to be drug addicts, took her to the fields and might have raped her before hitting her with a wooden baton. They then dragged her back to the place where she was sleeping and fled.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan, forensic experts and dog squad visited the spot. A case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered at the Patiala sadar police station. Superintendent of police (investigations) Harvinder Singh Virk said: “We have requested for post-mortem examination to ascertain if the woman was raped.” He said investigations were on and some suspects are being questioned.