Woman's charred body found in West Bengal's Malda district; probe launched as police suspects rape, murder

Malda: In a rerun of the Hyderabad veterinary doctor’s murder, a young woman’s charred body was found in a mango orchard in West Bengal’s Malda district on Thursday, raising suspicion that she was raped and killed, a senior police officer said. The body has suffered severe burns, making it difficult to ascertain the woman’s identity, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Prasanta Debnath said. [caption id=“attachment_4577591” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] Local farmers spotted the body in English Bazar Police Station area in the morning, following which they raised an alarm, the DCP, who visited the site along with Superintendent of Police Alok Rajoria, said. “Prima facie it seems that the victim is in her early 20s. Her body has several injury marks. We have sent it for postmortem to Malda medical college,” he said, adding that a probe has been initiated in the case. Sources in the police department said that initial investigations indicated she was raped and strangulated to death and her body set on fire. A pair of slippers and several matchsticks were found near the body, they said. The incident came a week after a 25-year old veterinary doctor’s charred body was found under a culvert at Shadnagar in Hyderabad on 28 November. Four men, aged between 20 and 24, have been arrested on charges of raping and killing the woman. Similar incidents were also reported from Buxar in Bihar and Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh over the past week. Early on Thursday, a rape victim from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh was allegedly set ablaze by five men, including the one who was accused in the crime, police said.