Woman found dead,family alleges rape but cops claim sour illicit affair

“She was regularly harassed and teased by a group of men. They have raped her before killing her. Otherwise why her body was found naked,” said the victim’s husband. The villagers demonstrated demanding death penalty for the killers.

Police,however,ruled out rape and termed it as a case of elopement going awry. “This is not a case of rape. The woman was having an extramarital affair with the accused and wanted to elope. But the accused,who too is married,refused and later strangulated her,” said Superintendent of Police Humayan Kabir.

Police have arrested one person,claiming that he was the woman’s paramour. “We have arrested one person in this connection and looking for others who might be involved,” added Kabir. The body,meanwhile,has been sent for a postmortem.

The latest incident comes amid growing anger among the people about the deteriorating law and order situation in the state,particularly with the rising cases of crimes against women. The Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress government has been facing severe public backlash following a spate of rapes and murders in the past few weeks with a majority of the victims being minors.