Woman abducted, strangled, legs severed to remove silver anklets in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: In a gruesome murder that has shocked residents, a 60-year-old woman from Berasia was allegedly abducted, strangled to death and both her legs were later severed with an axe to remove silver anklets in the Nazirabad area. When the police recovered the body on Monday she was naked due to which cops have not ruled out the possibility of sexual assault. Police have detained a relative of the victim and are questioning him regarding the crime. A panel of doctors conducted the post-mortem of the body on Tuesday and a case on charges of abduction, murder and robbery have been registered at Nazirabad police station. Police said that the victim, identified as Bhagvati Bai (Name changed), a resident of a village under Berasia police station limits, had been missing since June 4. Her husband is a farmer.According to police, Bhagvati Bai left her home around noon on June 4 with a relative saying she was going to meet her son and did not return. After an unsuccessful search, her family lodged a missing person's complaint on June 6. Police and relatives had been searching for her since then.On Monday, Nazirabad police received information about a woman's body lying in the Sheshapura forest area. Family members were called to the spot and identified the deceased as Bhagvati Bai. Both her legs were severed with an axe and the silver anklets which she was wearing were missing. There were no clothes over the body. The body was sent for post-mortem examination after a case was registered.During the investigation, family members expressed suspicion against the relative, a 40-year-old man, with whom she had left. Police detained him for questioning and, during preliminary interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime.Police said the accused allegedly strangled the woman and later chopped off her leg with an axe to remove her anklets. Police are yet to ascertain whether the murder was solely committed with the intention of robbery or the accused had sexually assaulted the woman. Sources said the accused had allegedly approached the victim on the day of the incident and persuaded her to accompany him on his motorcycle on the pretext of taking her to meet her son. He allegedly took her to the Sheshapura forest, where the murder was carried out.Police are continuing their investigation to establish the exact motive behind the crime and to determine whether any other individuals were involved in the incident.