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The semi-charred body of a woman was recovered from the Khondare area of the Gonda district, police said on Sunday. The identity of the woman, aged around 35 years, is yet to be ascertained.
Circle Officer (Mankapur) Naveena Shukla said some children playing cricket in a village in the Khondare area late on Saturday discovered the body in the bushes. After being informed by locals, police reached the spot with a dog squad and a forensic team and inspected the area, he added.
The body has been sent for the post-mortem examination, Shukla said, adding further investigations are on.
Meanwhile, an Intermediate student in Chitrakoot was abducted by bike-borne unidentified accused on a motorcycle after she left her coaching class. She was subsequently thrown into the Mandakini river from a bridge. As her condition was said to be critical, she was rushed to KGMU in Lucknow.
“On Saturday evening, we came to know that a girl had been kidnapped and throwing off a bridge into the river. Swift action was taken. The girl received care at the district hospital before being referred to KGMU Hospital in Lucknow via a police-secured green corridor,” Chitrakoot SP Vrinda Shukla said.
In a similar incident, a 15-year-old girl in Agra was allegedly abducted and sexually assaulted by three men, police said. The incident took place when the girl was returning from her father’s shop. She was confronted by a motorcycle-borne accused, who forcibly took her away in an autorickshaw. Her ordeal came to light the following day when a brick kiln caretaker found her abandoned by the roadside.
One of the accused took his own life, while another was apprehended by police. An  FIR has been filed against the accused — Roopesh, Karua, and Jagdish — aged between 18 years and 20years respectively, under relevant sections of the IPC. They have also been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused hail from a village in Shamshabad area.
ACP Anand Kumar Pandey provided details of the harrowing incident, stating, “The minor girl was abducted in an autorickshaw and subjected to sexual assault on the outskirts of the village.” He also revealed that the investigation led to the accused’s village, where Jagdish took his own life.
DCP Somendra Meena said, “Roopesh, the accused autorickshaw driver, has been apprehended and is currently being interrogated. Six specialised teams have been deployed in the pursuit of Karuna, the absconding accused.” The victim is undergoing a medical examination, while Jagdish’s body has been sent for autopsy.