Man using raped, murdered nurse's phone arrested in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur

RUDRAPUR: Police have arrested a man in connection with the rape and murder of a nurse in Rudrapur after the special investigation team (SIT) traced him using the victim's mobile phone.
The 33-year-old single mother, who worked at a private hospital in Rudrapur, went missing on July 30 after leaving work. Her sister lodged a missing person report at the Rudrapur police station the next day, stating that she was last seen travelling from Indra Chowk in a tempo but never reached her home in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh.
On Aug 8, the skeletal remains of the victim were discovered on Vasundhara Road in Dibdiba.Following the investigation, the police arrested Dharmendra Kumar, who confessed to the crime during interrogation. "On July 30, I intercepted her near Vasundhara Colony, raped her, and strangled her. I fled with her phone and Rs 3,000," he said.
Further investigation revealed Dharmendra had given the victim's phone to his associate, Bihari Lal, a resident of Tursa Patti in Bareilly. Inspector Manohar Singh said, "Lal accepted the phone even though he knew it was stolen." Lal was arrested on Aug 31 and both the accused have been remanded to custody as the investigation continues.
The case, initially filed as a missing person report, was later escalated to include charges of rape and murder. Dharmendra, a 28-year-old construction labourer from Bareilly, was apprehended in Jodhpur, where he had fled after committing the crime. He confessed to attacking the woman on a secluded street in Dibdiba village, Rampur district, dragging her into the bushes, where he raped and murdered her by smashing her head with a brick before fleeing with her valuables.