The National Commission for Women on Sunday took suo motu cognisance of the brutal gangrape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in Haryana’s Rohtak district. The body of the woman, who was allegedly attacked by several men after she had rejected their advances, was found on Thursday in a decomposed and extremely mutilated state. Two people were arrested on Saturday and sent to two days’ police custody by a local court.

The NCW sent a two-member team to meet the victim’s family in Haryana’s Sonipat district, The Hindu reported. “There have been conflicting reports. The victim’s brother told me on Saturday that the police are going slow as one of the men involved had ties to a policeman. The NCW team will meet the victim’s family to find out the details,” chairperson of the commission Lalitha Kumaramangalam said. She added that she had already written to Haryana’s director general of police and home minister about the need for a fair and swift investigation.

Since the victim was Dalit, the two men arrested have also been booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Sonipat Superintendent of Police, Ashwin Shenvi told PTI.

Meanwhile, the victim’s mother has sought the death penalty for the accused, according to Hindustan Times. She said her daughter had left home for work on May 9 but did not return. The family filed a “missing person” complaint and heard of a body having been found in Rohtak on Friday, May 12.

“I would ask everyone to not give birth to daughters to avoid seeing this day that I’m seeing...every woman fears this day for their daughters since these goons are alive,” she was quoted as saying. She added that one of the accused had been forcing her daughter to marry him but had been rebuffed each time.

The forensic team that examined the woman’s body said sharp weapons had been used to injure and disfigure her. It added that the attackers had tried to run their car over her face to prevent identification. “The findings suggest that it was a brutal rape and murder,” said Dr S K Dhatterwal, head of the department of forensic medicine at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, told PTI. PGIMS had conducted the post-mortem.

Reactions

Reports say the crime is reminiscent of the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder. Many leaders, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi, condemned it and sought punishment for the attackers.

The state has also announced financial assistance for the woman’s family of Rs 10.5 lakh, ANI reported.

“This savage and bone-chilling incident has shocked the conscience of the nation, reminding each one of us about the crying need for revisiting the important issue of women’s safety and security,” Gandhi said in a statement. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, too, said the incident was “brutal” and those guilty would not be spared.

However, the police have arrested only two of at least seven attackers.