Assam man, 23, held for rape, murder of woman over alleged affair: Police

A 23-year-old tea garden worker from Assam’s Dibrugarh district was arrested for allegedly raping and strangling a 22-year-old woman over an alleged illicit affair, police said on Sunday.

The woman, who went missing on Friday morning, was recovered from an abandoned pit in Chabua area on Saturday afternoon, and police detained the accused later.

“As per the initial investigation, the woman was sexually assaulted and strangled to death before her body was thrown into an abandoned pit,” officers said, adding that the accused was known to her and they were allegedly having an affair.

The woman, a mother of a two-year-old boy, separated from her husband nearly a year ago and was staying separately in the Chabua area of Dibrugarh.

Police said she had been missing since Friday morning and her family members reported it at the Chabua police station the same day. “A search operation was launched based on the complaint and her body was found on Saturday,” officers said.

Victim’s family members later lodged a first information report (FIR) against Sumit Kalandi (23), who according to them was in contact with her for several months.

“He was forcing her to stay with him but she was not ready because she had just separated and was raising a little kid. They used to fight and when she went missing, we informed the police about it,” family members said on Saturday.

Police said they detained Kalandi after recovering the body, and he later confessed to the crime. “He said they were having a relationship but she was also keeping contact with others, which is why he killed her,” a senior police officer said.

He said that Kalandi has been arrested for rape, murder, kidnap and other charges and the matter is under investigation.

The officer said that victim’s body was sent to Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH), Dibrugarh for postmortem on Saturday and they are waiting for the report.