6 held in Bokaro pregnant woman’s ‘assault’ & death case

Bokaro: A day after a four-month pregnant woman resident of number 5 Dhoura died from injuries suffered in an alleged assault, six persons have been arrested in the case, police said on Sunday.

The deceased was identified as Anita Devi (25), police added.

Citing the FIR lodged by the husband of the deceased, Mahesh Bhuiyan, with Bermo police on May 30, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ravindra Kumar Singh said, “Anita and one Poonam Devi were allegedly assaulted by a group of people when they had gone to a railway siding to collect coal for household fuel on Saturday. She was taken to the Dhori regional hospital, where doctors declared her brought dead.”

“Six accused -- Bablu Kumar, Surendra Bhuiyan, Virendra Kumar Bharti, Rahul Digar, Dhiren Bhuiyan, and Rajesh Kumar -- were arrested and remanded to judicial custody. Efforts are under way to arrest the remaining accused,” he added.

Family members claimed that Anita Devi was four-month pregnant at the time of her death and that the unborn child also died in the incident. She is survived by a 4-year-old daughter and an 18-month-old son. They kept her body on the road throughout Saturday, leading to traffic blockade in Phusro for nearly 20 hours.