Another shameful incident was added to a spate of crimes against women in India on Saturday, after a 65-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped and killed in Uttar Pradesh’s Lucknow, the police said. The despicable incident came to light after a complaint was filed in this regard on Thursday, September 24, in which it was alleged that the woman was violated and was killed by the accused, who were reportedly under the inebriation of alcohol at the time.

Subsequently, a case was registered at the city’s Mohanlalganj Police Station under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The accused duo has been identified as Rajesh and Hariram Rawat.

Argument leads to sexual assault, murder

Police said the accused told the cops that they had been consuming alcohol near the woman’s residence, when an argument broke out. The accused, according to police, assaulted the woman after she objected to their behaviour and began abusing them. The duo then raped the elderly woman.

Sources said the situation escalated when the woman began screaming for help. The accused duo thrashed her to such an extent that she fell on the leg of an iron cot.

Following the sexual assault and murder, the accused duo fled the scene, but were arrested later. The police are probing the circumstances surrounding the woman’s death, and said further details in the case are awaited.

Political leaders condemn incident

Political leaders weighed in on the incident. Congress leader Pawan Khera expressed outrage over the alleged crime. He questioned the mindset of men capable of committing sexual violence against an elderly woman on social media, describing rape as an act of power and a means of terrorising, humiliating and subjugating another person.