19-year-old woman found dead in Meerut banquet hall, family says she was raped

No one has been arrested so far.

“We recovered the body from a washroom attached to a room where a drunk police constable was found sleeping. A case of murder has been lodged in this connection. Forensic experts have also been pressed into service. We are investigating further,” SSP (Meerut) Prabhakar Chaudhary told The Indian Express.

According to sources, the constable was among the guests. Police said that they were informed about the woman going missing from the wedding venue on Monday night.

“When a police team reached there, the girl’s family members had found her body from a bathroom. They had beat up the police constable alleging that he was responsible for the murder and possible rape. We cannot confirm the rape charge as the postmortem report is still awaited,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Poonam Sirohi.

The woman’s family said those attending the wedding had a scuffle with the bouncers after the manager of the banquet hall refused to share the CCTV video footage of the night.

“We have sealed the marriage hall and a case will be registered against the manager of the banquet hall and the bouncers who misbehaved with the girl’s family members. The role of the police constable in the incident is also being investigated and action will be taken if he is found guilty,” said the in-charge of the local police station.