Madhya Pradesh: 16-year-old tortures, rapes, murders elderly woman

A 58-year-old woman was raped, brutalised, and murdered by a 16-year-old boy in Rewa of Madhya Pradesh on the intervening night of January 31 and February 1.

The accused has been arrested. He confessed to the crime, and said he was angry as the woman had accused him of stealing a mobile phone two years ago.

Rewa superintendent of police Navneet Bhasin confirmed to THE WEEK that the accused is 16 years old. He was detained on Thursday and arrested on Friday after he confessed to the crime. The incident occurred in Kailashpura village under Hanumana police station.

According to the police, the accused entered the home of the woman, Sukbaria Devi Gupta, 58, at night as he knew that her husband Brijlal and son had gone to Jabalpur for treatment of Brijlal and that she was alone. The accused reportedly told the police that he tied the hand and mouth of the victim while she was asleep and then dragged her to the part of the house that was under construction.

Mauganj sub-divisional officer of police (SDOP) Naveen Dubey told THE WEEK that the accused confessed to gagging the woman using different things like a sock, polythene bags, and other clothes before attaching her with a sickle on her head, throat, chest, and hands. He then raped her and brutalised her using a wooden stick and left her to die of excessive bleeding.

The accused also stole the jewelry the woman was wearing, a gold coin, and Rs 1,000 in cash from the house before escaping. The police recovered the stolen goods.

There were reports that the woman was raped after death, but Dubey told THE WEEK that the accused confessed that he raped and brutalised her when she was still alive but he knew that once he left she would die as she was alone at home and could not get any help.

“The boy was very angry about being accused of stealing a mobile phone by the victim and her family two years ago. Since then often there would be an altercation between the accused, victim, and her family,” Dubey said. He added that though the accused is not yet 17, he has the psychology and physicality of an adult.

Sources said the boy was keeping track of the police investigation since the beginning and tried to mislead police even after detention. He did not show any remorse and confessed only after he was taken into confidence.