The accused have denied their involvement in the crime (Representational Image)
Three of the five people accused of burning a woman alive after raping her in Sambhal district have been arrested, police said on Monday. Raids are on to nab the other two accused, they added.
The woman’s charred body was recovered from a temple adjacent to her house on Saturday morning. The victim’s husband, who was in Noida when the incident took place, filed a complaint against the five for raping the woman and subsequently setting her on fire, police said.
Additional Director General, Bareilly zone, Prem Prakash said the accused have denied their involvement in the crime. “They admitted to having had an argument with the woman on Friday about a man who allegedly used to visit her house in absence of the husband. They also told us that they had informed the woman’s husband and his brother about him,” said Prem Prakash.
The woman’s husband works as a labourer in Ghaziabad.
“The accused said that they came to know about the incident on Saturday morning. However, since there is no eyewitness to the incident, we are scrutinising call details of the accused to verify their location when the crime took place. The police are also trying to get the exact details from the woman’s daughter, who was at house with the woman before the incident occurred.”
“Whether she was gangraped could not be ascertained in the post-mortem. So, we have asked the Forensic Science Laboratory, Moradabad, to ascertain if she was gangraped. The required samples have been sent. We are waiting for their report,” said Inspector General, Moradabad range, Binod Kumar Singh.
According to the complaint filed by the victim’s husband, after she was gangraped, his wife called her cousin to inform about the incident, but by the time the police could be contacted, the accused returned and burnt her alive, police officials said.