3 held for murder of 25yo woman identified through tattoo

Haridwar: Three men were arrested for allegedly murdering a 25-year-old woman whose decomposed body was found in a forest along the Chandi Devi temple route in Haridwar on May 10, police said on Sunday, adding that she was identified through a tattoo of her name, “Kaushalya”, on her hand.

Among those arrested is Ram Prakash alias Govinda, 30, who was in a live-in relationship with Kaushalya after she left her husband and eloped with him a few years ago, police said. When she allegedly began pressuring him to marry her, Ram planned her murder with the help of his brother Rakesh Singh,33, and brother-in-law Chedi Lal, 40.

The three allegedly brought Kaushalya to Haridwar on the pretext of a temple visit and, after taking a dip in the Ganga, went towards Chandi Devi temple on the pedestrian route, where they strangled her. They then removed her belongings and clothes before dumping the body in a forest area, police said.

SHO of Shyampur police station Nitesh Sharma told TOI, “When a decomposed naked body of a woman was found in the forest, we had only one clue - the name tattooed on her hand. We verified all missing women’s reports linked to the name Kaushalya since 2019 but got no lead. We then checked CCTV footage from the route and temple, but most cameras were not working due to thunderstorms.”

Sharma said police later examined CCTV footage from entry points across the city, including the railway station, bus stand and highways. “After 25 days of investigation, we managed to identify the accused,” he said.