They Gang-Raped This Woman And Crushed Her Skull For Saying No To A Marriage Proposal
Here's everything we know about the brutal rape and murder case so far.
By Nandini Balakrishnan — 15 May 2017, 05:15 PM
The Haryana police found the mutilated body of a 20-year-old female in the Rohtak district on Thursday, 11 May.
The young girl is believed to have been kidnapped, taken to a secluded area, and allegedly gang-raped by at least six men.
News reports said that her body was found near a the secluded Industrial Model Township in Urban Estate, Rohtak. Rothak is one of the 22 states in the Haryana state in Northern India.
The girl was reportedly kidnapped from Sonipat on 9 May when she was on her way to work by the main culprit, Sumit Kumar, 24, and his accomplice, Vikas, 28. Daily Mail Online India reported a police officer as saying that the victim was living with her mother.
The parents had lodged a missing persons report to the police when they realised that she didn't return home from work that day.
Both suspects have been arrested by the Haryana police and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been deployed to further investigate the case.
The authorities have since revealed more gory details of the alleged rape and murder
The victim's body was first discovered by a passerby who then alerted the police.
Image via Daily Mail Online IndiaIndian news sites reported that the autopsy showed that the girl's skull had been shattered and sharp-edged objects are believed to have been inserted into her private parts.
Her face was allegedly smashed with a brick and the suspects apparently ran her over with a car to ensure that her body and face are unidentifiable.
India Today reported that even the police was stunned to see the brutal extent of the young woman's injuries.
"The victim was tortured and her body was mutilated and tortured after the gang rape. She was killed after being raped involving at least seven people. Her skull was smashed in a way which indicates that she was run over by a vehicle in order to hide her identity," read the report by the forensic team as mentioned in an article by India Today on 13 May.
Hindustan Times reported that by the time the authorities found the decomposed body, the stray dogs had already bitten off parts of her face and the lower portion of the body.
Meanwhile, station house officer Ajay Kumar said that the victim was first intoxicated with sedatives that are believed to have been mixed in a soft drink and given to her. "It is believed that the victim was raped and killed after she fell unconscious," added Ajay Kumar, as reported by Daily Mail Online India.
The victim's family has revealed that the suspect was actually a neighbour that has been harassing their daughter for the past year, forcing her to marry him. She had apparently turned him down because he was unemployed.
Sumit had allegedly been stalking the victim for about a week before she was raped and murdered. Reports said that the girl had even slapped Sumit for blocking her way once.
In a report by Hindustan Times, Sonepat superintendent of police Ashwin Shenvi, said that the victim's family had indeed made a verbal complaint against the suspect following the harassment but had later withdrawn the complaint, saying that they had "struck a compromise".
The victim's family has demanded for capital punishment for the accused.
"Uska itna bura haal kiya.. aisa kisiki beti ka nai hona chaiye…sarkar kehti hai beti paida karo aur ye darinde aise hatya karne lag rahe hain…(Such brutality should not happen with anyone's daughter..the government promotes girl child birth while these goons are so brutally killing them)," said the victim's mother as reported by the news site.
The main suspect, Sumit, has since confessed to the crime. "I was in love with her and she also loved me. There was some altercation between us and I killed her with a brick."
Daily Mail Online India reported that after the culprit kidnapped the girl, they took her to Rothak, near Parsvnath City and asked her to marry him again to which she refused. That angered him and led to him killing her.
It was also reported that almost 90% of rapes in India are committed by people the victim knows.