A 19-year-old woman was found dead with multiple injuries days after she went missing from her home in Gunateerthawadi village in Bidar district of Karnataka. The police have registered a case of rape and murder after recovering her body and have arrested three individuals in connection with the incident, which allegedly took place on August 29.
According to the police, the victim was murdered after being struck on the head with a stone, and her body was subsequently dumped in nearby bushes. While there are suspicions that she was sexually assaulted, confirmation is awaited due to pending medical reports, as reported by PTI.
The young woman had been missing since August 29, and her parents filed a missing person report at the Basavakalyana police station two days later. "We registered a missing case and started our investigation," said a senior police officer. "On September 1, her body was recovered with multiple injuries, including head wounds. We registered a case of murder initially and the accused were unknown."
Earlier, the police told The Hindustan Times that prima facie it seemed like it was sexual assault and murder. The Basavakalyan taluk GH performed the autopsy and handed over the body of the woman to her family.
Later, based on technical evidence, investigators identified three individuals who had been in contact with the victim on the day of her disappearance. One of the suspects, who belonged to the same village, was in direct contact with her. During interrogation, the prime accused confessed to murdering her, revealing that he had two accomplices who were guarding him from a distance during the crime, the officer added, as per the report.
All three suspects have since been arrested. While investigators suspect sexual assault, the official confirmation will depend on the medical examination results. The police have added charges of rape to the FIR based on the interrogation and initial findings.