Uncle held for murder of woman whose body was found in forest

Dharamshala, February 11

The half-naked body of a 20- year-old woman was found in a forest near Kotla, 70 km from here, following which her maternal uncle was arrested for allegedly killing her, police said on Sunday.

The woman, a resident of Shahpur town of the district, was found dead yesterday. Her half-naked body was recovered from the forest, bringing back memories of the brutal gang-rape and murder of a schoolgirl at Kotkhai in Shimla in July last year.

According to the SP, Santosh Patial, a case was registered under IPC Section 302 (murder), and the accused man, who is the deceased’s maternal uncle, was arrested today.

“The accused Sarran Dass, alias Sanju, has confessed to the killing of the woman. Further investigations into the case are on,” Patial said.

As per the FIR, the victim had gone to meet her sister to Padhar village on February 4. The place is 20 km away from her house near Shahpur. When she did not return, the family filed a complaint at the Shahpur police station on February 6. She was last spotted at the Dol bus stand on February 5.

However, it was only yesterday that the police received information about the body of a woman lying in the forest.

The body was taken for post mortem and the reports are awaited, police said. — PTI