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In a horrifying incident, local people discovered a semi-naked and headless body of an unidentified woman on the Kanpur-Delhi highway in Uttar Pradesh's Gujaini on Thursday. As per reports, the localities informed police after spotting the body on the highway. Police are yet to ascertain the woman's identity.
What did the police say?
According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Ravinder Kumar, the woman's bones and teeth were broken. No mobile phone, bag or ID card was found near the body. CCTV footage around the highway is also being looked into in a bid to make headway into the case.
"The woman's body has been sent for post-mortem. There are marks of a blunt object on the body. We are probing this case from a murder as well as an accident angle," DCP Kumar further added.
While the immediate cause of the woman's death is still unclear, Kanpur Additional Commissioner Harish Chandra pointed to a road accident.
"It is possible that the accident was caused by a big vehicle. The head was not missing. It had ruptured due to the injury. It has been found now. Clothes have also been found. Other things will be revealed after the postmortem report," he said.
Political row erupts in the state
The horrific death of the woman has sparked a political slugfest in the state as the Opposition parties verbally attacked the Yogi Adityanath government over the law and order situation and crimes against women.
Commenting on the incident, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said, "In another heartbreaking incident of crime against women in UP, a headless, naked body of a woman was found on the highway of Kanpur. Morality says that the evidence of ruthless violence and immense physical torture inflicted on the deceased should not be mentioned."
"The incident should be investigated impartially, and the criminals should be identified and given such a punishment that it creates fear in the minds of those who commit such a crime. Hope the BJP government will get this investigated by rising above politics", he further demanded.
Strongly criticising the growing incidents of violence against women in the country, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi cited that 86 women are raped and abused every day in India.
Calling the Kanpur incident heartbreaking, Gandhi said, "Be it at home or outside, on the road or in the office, women are not safe anywhere. Half the population of the country is not only unsafe, but due to such brutality, the morale of crores of women is shattered every day".
