Man accused of woman's rape and murder held in Pratapgarh

Prayagraj: A joint team of Special Operation Group (SOG), surveillance, and Kotwali police of Pratapgarh police on Sunday claimed to have arrested the prime accused in connection with a woman's rape and murder case. The accused identified as Abhishek Kumar, a resident of Paharpur (Gajehara) was arrested near Bhupiyamau railway crossing while planning to escape from town. The police have also seized one broken SIM card from his possession.

Police said that body of a woman was found inside a hotel room on April 25, and following which, a case under section 61(2) (criminal conspiracy), 70(1) (gang rape), and 103(1) (murder) of BNS was registered against three persons regarding the incident. After registering the FIR, the SP (Pratapgarh) had formed three police teams to crack down on the incident. The arrested prime accused, Abhishek, confessed to the police that he raped the woman several times on the pretext of marriage.

He also told the police that the slain woman was mounting pressure for marriage. On April 25, he again called the woman to the hotel room and raped her. After having drinks and meals, he assured her that they would escape to another town and marry. However, the couple had a dispute over the same issue, and with the help of a dupatta, the accused strangled her to death and escaped.

The accused also took away the mobile and SIM of the slain woman. The police claimed that the accused made futile attempts to conceal the evidence related to the incident.