A nearly 100-year-old woman in the state's Patiala district was murdered while her family alleged that the victim may have been raped by her killers, police said on Monday, adding its probe was on.
A police official in Patiala, 80 km from here, said that the victim, who was a resident of Daun Kalan village near Patiala town, was found murdered outside her house. The body bore serious injury marks on the head which might have been caused with sharp edged weapon, police said.
The blood stains were also found within 70-80 yards from where the body was found, Patiala SP Harvinder Singh Virk said. Police suspected that the woman was first taken by assailants to a nearby field and then the body was dumped near the cot after the murder.
Police is now investigating if the victim was raped before being killed as her body was found half naked. A case of murder has been registered and police have sought details from the victim's postmortem examination to see if she had been raped.
Raids were being conducted to arrest the culprits, believed to be drug addicts, from the village and nearby areas, police said.
