Chhattisgarh horror: 65-year-old man held for rape-murder of woman, killing her infant daughter

The Chhattisgarh police arrested a 65-year-old man for the brutal rape and murder of a 35-year-old woman, and for killing her 10-month-old infant daughter, days after the crime.SSP Singh said that police had camped in Chhaparapani village for the probe (HT Photo/ Sanchit Khanna/ Representational)The cops arrested the accused, identified as Bhikariram Nagvanshi, on August 6 after weeks of intensive probe, an official said on Saturday. The crime had taken place on July 15 on a remote farm in Chhaparani village in Raigarh district under the Lailunga police station limits, PTI news agency reported.The woman's cousin lodged a complaint at Lailunga police station on July 16, after she was found critically injured and her daughter dead at the spot, Raigarh Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Shashi Mohan Singh said. The SSP said that the crime had occurred in an isolated location with no eyewitnesses, posing a major challenge to the investigation.Also Read | Chhattisgarh: 8 juveniles escape Mahasamund observation home; search underwaySuspicious injury marks on accused's body led to arrestSSP Singh said that police had camped in Chhaparapani village for the probe, questioning residents and deploying informants to gather intelligence. Meanwhile, teams from the police, Forensic Science Laboratory, and the dog squad had also been brought un to inspect the crime scene and collect physical evidence.The Raigarh police cracked the complex case through suspicious injury marks on the alleged accused, following which they pieced together forensic evidence, leading to the arrest of Nagvanshi, a resident of Kodasiya village. Evidence has begun pointing towards the accused during the investigation early on, but he had initially denied any involvement in the crime, according to PTI.However, officers later noticed a suspicious injury mark on his hand, an official said, and he confessed to the crime upon further interrogation. The accused was on Friday produced before a local court, which remanded him to 14 days in judicial custody.Also Read | Rape & murder of 12-year-old: 4 years after Panipat court awards death penalty, HC orders retrialWoman sustained severe injuries to head, face; was attacked with heavy objectThe victim was found with severe injuries to her head and face, indicating that she had been attacked with a heavy object. The 35-year-old, who was a widow allegedly suffering from mental health issues, lived on the farm with her infant daughter, Raigarh SSP Singh said.She was rushed for medical assistance but succumbed to her injuries during treatment, Singh said, adding that a case was initially registered under section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), PTI reported. According to police, the accused entered the victim's house on the night of July 15 and found her asleep next to her daughter. When she resisted his attempt to rape her, Nagvanshi repeatedly struck her on the head and face with a brick until she lost consciousness, following which he sexually assaulted her.When the infant started crying, the accused allegedly strangled her and struck her too with the brick, killing her on the spot, PTI cited police as saying. After the crime, Nagvanshi fled to his hideout through the fields, and changed his bloodstained dhoti, which was later recovered by the police. Nagvanshi has been held on charges of rape and double murder.