UP Man Arrested For Rape & Murder Of Uttarakhand Nurse: 'Strangled Her, Then Robbed Her'

The deceased worked as a nurse at a private hospital in Rudrapur's Nainital Road area, and lived with her 11-year-old daughter in Bilaspur, Uttar Pradesh, a boundary town a short distance away.

Representational Image | A man has been arrested for rapping and murdering a 33-year-old nurse in Uttarakhand.

Source : ABPLIVE AI

An Uttar Pradesh man was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly raping and murdering a 33-year-old nurse who went missing from Uttarakhand's Rudrapur in July. The victim's body was found in an area along the UP-Uttarakhand boundary roughly a week after she went missing on July 30.

The deceased worked as a nurse at a private hospital in Rudrapur's Nainital Road area, and lived with her 11-year-old daughter in Bilaspur, Uttar Pradesh, a boundary town a short distance away. Her sister filed a missing person’s report for her on July 31 at Rudrapur police station, after which an investigation was launched. Her body was discovered in an empty plot in the Dibdiba area, which falls in Uttar Pradesh, and was sent for a post-mortem exam.

According to News 18, the accused, Dharmendra, worked as a labourer and belongs to the Bareilly district of Uttar Pradesh. He was arrested in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan. Reports indicate that Dharmendra targeted the victim while she was on her way home, and raped and strangled her before fleeing with her jewellery and cash.

As part of its investigation, police reviewed CCTV footage, which revealed the victim's last known location in a tempo at Indra Chowk in Rudrapur. Her stolen mobile phone's location subsequently led them to Dharmendra.

During interrogation, Dharmendra said he attacked the nurse on Kashipur Road with the intent to rob her. He then took her to a vacant plot, where he raped and strangled her.

Kolkata Rape-Murder Case

The case comes amid nationwide furore over the rape and murder of a trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata, which has also triggered a strike by doctors demanding justice. 

The second-year postgraduate trainee doctor was attacked on August 8, while she was taking rest, after a gruelling work day, in the seminar hall on the premises. She reportedly chose the spot because the campus had limited rest areas. The next morning, on August 9, her body was found partially unclothed.

While one suspect has been arrested in the case, the matter has now been transferred to the CBI amid allegations of a potential cover-up and suspicions that more people were involved in the attack.