Patna: An 18-year-old BA first-year student was found hanging from a tree with her dupatta in Supaul district late Sunday night, hours after she had gone to attend a wedding ceremony near her grandmother’s house. The young woman had been staying with her grandmother and had stepped out to apply mehndi at the wedding shortly before her body was discovered.Her family has alleged that two men abducted her and took her to a secluded spot near a pond, where she was allegedly raped before being killed. Police have collected evidence from the scene, including slippers and soil samples, but said they are awaiting the post-mortem report to confirm whether rape took place.According to the police, a wedding was being held in the neighbouring locality of the victim’s family on Sunday. During the haldi ceremony, the victim, along with some other girls, went to the house where the function was being organised to get haldi applied.Around 6pm, she went out to wash her hands at a hand pump located nearby but did not return. Initially, her family members and some women in the village assumed that she might have been engaged in other preparations downstairs. However, as time passed and she did not return, concern grew and a search was launched.Family members alleged that some villagers had seen two youths forcibly taking her away near the hand pump. The accused have been identified as Sonu Kumar Pandit and generator owner Raushan Kumar Mandal.According to the police, the family alleged that both youths covered the student’s mouth and dragged her to a deserted place near a pond. They claimed she was raped there. Fearing that they would be caught, the accused allegedly hanged her body with her dupatta to make the death appear to be a case of suicide.SDPO Vibhash Kumar said, “The student’s slippers were found lying at the spot. Shockingly, 2 other pairs of slippers were also recovered from there, which villagers claim belong to the accused youths. Police are considering these slippers as important evidence. Family members have not yet filed a written complaint of rape.”He added that the exact cause of death would be determined only after the post-mortem examination. “No conclusion can be reached yet. The investigation is being conducted from all angles,” he said.
