123 Malda: A woman's burning body was found by morning walkers at a mango orchard in Malatipur under Chanchal police station on Friday.
Villagers crossing through the orchard behind the BDO office of Chanchal-2 noticed smoke rising from a haystack. On coming closer, they saw a body was burning along with the hay and there were bloodstains nearby. The legs were still unburnt, indicating it was the body of a female, likely in her twenties.
Locals claimed that the woman, who was yet to be identified, had been raped and killed.
A huge police force led by inspector in charge Purnendu Kundu reached the spot. Police found a sharp knife beside a bag containing some medicine. Sources said that a gold ornament was also found. The body was taken for postmortem.
A local who was among the first to make the grisly discovery, Saidul Alam Sk, said that the orchard was possibly chosen because it was deserted at night.
Parul Das, another villager, said: "The area is infested by anti-socials after dark. We are scared."
Local Trinamool MLA Abdur Rahim Boxi said, "Police have already started the investigation. Nobody involved in this heinous crime will be spared."
Police superintendent Pradeep Yadav said: "A partly burnt female body was found and we recovered some items. We started the investigation based on some clues. A forensic team will examine the crime scene. We hope to arrest the criminals soon."
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