Bodies of two women were found in two separate incidents from two districts of Uttar Pradesh on Saturday.
While the body found in Murtia village of Bahraich district had its face partially burnt, the one in Bijnor was so badly charred that it was beyond recognition, said the police.
The body in Bahraich was recovered from a jungle. Bahraich SP Gaurav Grover said, “The face was burnt, may be by some chemical, to conceal the woman’s identity...There are no other injury marks on the body.”
“Post-mortem examination and other investigation will ascertain if the woman was raped. A three-member special investigation team (SIT) has been formed under deputy superintendent of police, Naupara, to probe the case,” he said.
“The SIT will scan the missing complaints filed in neighbouring police stations in the past 7-10 days...We have also circulated the body’s photo to the neighbouring police stations as well as those of Lakhimpur Kheri,” he added. Police have registered a murder case.
In Bijnor, the charred body was found tied to a cot in a mango orchard at Jhalra village of the district, said police.
Station house officer of Kotwali police station R C Sharma said the body was so damaged that identifying the woman was proving to be difficult. “We have also recovered two catridge shells from the spot which suggest that the victim was probably shot dead in the orchard and then burnt so as to conceal the her identity,” said Sharma.
“A team of forensic experts has collected DNA samples and investigation is underway ,” he said. “Where there was sexual assault can be confirmed only from post-mortem,” said the officer.
The body was first spotted by the man hired to look after the orchard.
Additional SP Laxmi Niwas Mishra said, “An FIR against unidentified people has been lodged and investigations are underway. Police teams are also making inquiries from locals of the adjoining villages to ascertain the identity of the deceased.” ( With PTI inputs )
