Rohtak rape and murder: Women's commission wants death penalty, police get 'vital clues'

Women protest against rape in a rally in New Delhi. India has one of the worst records when it comes to women's safety. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

HT, New Delhi, Feb 09, 2015: Police on Sunday claimed to have got 'vital clues' in the brutal rape and murder of a mentally challenged Nepalese woman whose body was found dumped in a field along the Rohtak-Hisar highway in Haryana, with blades and stones shoved inside.

Without disclosing details about the said clues, ADGP (law and order) Muhammad Akil said the "culprits will soon be arrested."

Chairperson of the Haryana women’s commission Kamlesh Panchal, meanwhile, visited the victim's family and said she would demand exemplary punishment for the perpetrators of the crime.

Panchal told the family members of the deceased that the commission has taken note of the issue and will demand that the accused be nabbed at the earliest, tried and hanged.

The commission also assured the family that they will look into the allegations of the police indifference in probing the matter.

Senior police officers inspect the spot where the stone-shoved body of the raped and murdered Nepalese woman was found at Bahu Akbarpur village in Rohtak on Sunday.
(Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)

The incident was the latest in a string of savage sex attacks in northern India and triggered protests and widespread revulsion.

The crime has triggered dissent among the Nepali community. Members of the Mool Pravaha Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj and Pravasi Nepali Sangh Bharat organised a candlelight vigil and protest at Mansarovar Park in Rohtak.

The victim's sister led a candlelit vigil in Rohtak on Saturday and accused police of not doing enough to trace the attackers. "Police have been slow to arrest the perpetrators, they should be arrested immediately and hanged. I want justice for my sister, they have been brutal to her, it's just spine chilling," the sister told the media.

Autopsy confirms 'brutal rape'

The woman, who was living with her sister at Chinyot Colony in Rohtak while undergoing treatment at a hospital, had been reported missing on February 1. After her mutilated body was found three days later, an autopsy confirmed brutal rape.

Memebers of two Nepalese organisations participate in a candle march at Mansarovar park at Rohtak on Sunday after a mentally-challenged Nepali woman was raped and murdered. (Manoj Dhaka/HT Photo)

Doctors of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) in Rohtak said the woman’s private parts were torn and multiple injuries were inflicted on almost every part of her body.

They compared the woman’s case to the fatal gang-rape of a student on a bus in New Delhi in 2012. That incident had sparked a massive public outcry and tougher laws to deter rapists.

Dr S K Dhattarwal, a senior member of the PGIMS’ forensic department who led the team that performed the autopsy, said the woman was attacked so brutally that her intestines were damaged. Several pointed stones were found inside the body, he said.

Ongoing investigation A police team led by senior officials on Sunday combed the fields near Bahu Akbarpur village where the body of the 28-year-old woman was found on February 4. A Forensic Science Laboratory team also visited the area and reportedly collected vital clues, officials said.

Haryana Police have announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to the arrest of the persons who attacked the woman. A special investigation team (SIT) led by deputy superintendent of police Amit Bhatia is using a cyber cell to trace mobile phone users who were active near the scene of the crime in the past few days. On Friday, it rounded up several people for questioning.

Several senior officials, including Akil and DIG (state crime branch) Vivek Sharma visited the crime scene on Sunday to take stock of the probe.

Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda and local MLA Munish Grover also visited the bereaved family and demanded stern punishment for the accused. Hooda condemned the incident and blamed the state government for “lawlessness” in Haryana.