Witness turns up dead 2 days after assault, murder of female friend in Madhya Pradesh

BHOPAL: In an intriguing turn of events, a 17-year-old boy, who was the complainant and eyewitness in the alleged assault and murder of his 20-year-old female friend in Anuppur district, turned up dead on a railway track on Saturday, in what appeared to be suicide, police said,

Investigating officers in the murder two days earlier revealed that the female friend, who was asthmatic, likely died of asphyxiation after the accused allegedly tried to cover her mouth during a struggle.

Police said the teen, a student at a local English-medium school, went into severe depression after the incident, blaming himself for what allegedly went down with his friend.

He was found dead on the track in the Bijuri police station limits of Anuppur on Saturday morning.

Anuppur SP Vikrant Murab told TOI, “The two accused in the case were arrested earlier. The deceased woman was asthmatic and died likely of asphyxiation, as the accused tried to cover her mouth during a struggle. We are investigating all aspects of the case. As to whether she was sexually assaulted will be clear once we get the detailed forensic reports. The DNA samples of the accused have been preserved.”

“Meanwhile, the body of her teen friend, who was a student at a local English-medium school, was found on a railway track today. As per the statements of the loco pilot and railway staff, it seems he fell asleep on the railway track, which makes it a case of suicide. He was under depression and held himself responsible for what happened to his friend. A case has been registered into his death,” the SP added.

According to police, the original incident took place on May 20 evening near the Korja Colliery boundary area along the railway line road in Bijuri.

The teen approached the police alleging that he and his friend were sitting near a banyan tree when two men arrived, assaulted them and allegedly attempted to sexually assault the woman.

Police said the teen claimed to have resisted and even injured one of the accused during the struggle before the duo fled after allegedly robbing his mobile phone, scooter keys and a pair of leggings that the woman had been wearing.

The woman later succumbed during treatment at a hospital. Following her post-mortem, police added murder charge to the case.

The accused, identified as Golu Kushwaha and Akhtar Ali Qureshi, were arrested within hours of the incident.