JAIPUR: The Karauli police on Friday evening took a 20-year-old man into custody in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old Dalit woman who was shot dead and dumped in a well, a senior police officer said on Saturday.
“We detained the accused from Jaipur last night… The accused shot the woman to death,” Karauli superintendent of police (SP) Mamta Gupta said. The officer said the suspect Golu Meena’s father was also detained.
Gupta said the suspect told interrogators that he and the victim were friends and that they met on Thursday evening at his place. They had an argument about her family finalising her marriage and he shot her at his house. He claims that he carried her body to a well four kilometres away in Naudia on his motorcycle and that his father didn’t help him.
The senior police officer said police were still investigating the possible role of the accused’s father and others in the incident.
The incident sparked a fresh political conflict in the state, with the opposition staging a protest in the assembly on Friday, criticising the government over the incident and questioning the safety of women and the law-and-order situation under the Congress-led government.
In her statement to the police, the woman’s mother alleged on Thursday that she was abducted by unidentified assailants who gang-raped her, threw acid on her face, and dumped her body in the well after her death.
The initial autopsy report has not given a firm opinion on the gang rape charge, the police oficer said.
BJP MP Kirori Lal Meena, who started his protest when the rape allegation was levelled, on Saturday demanded ₹50 lakh compensation for the family of the dead woman and action against police officers who delayed registering a first information report (FIR).
“On behalf of the family, we demand compensation of ₹50 lakh and a government job for the victim’s family. We also demand the immediate arrest of the culprits and the suspension of the two police constables, accountable for delaying the FIR-lodging process.”
Congress leader and Tonk MLA, Sachin Pilot, said the “barbaric murder” was unfortunate. “The administration should immediately probe an investigation considering the seriousness of the matter and should also ensure justice for her,” he said in a post on Twitter.
The victim’s family hasn’t accepted her body to press their demands, an official said.
