The police have released three sketches of the suspects.
The spectre of a serial killer is looming large over a rural portion of Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly after nine women from the same age group have been found murdered in nearly the same fashion in a span of about 13 months. All of the women were strangled to death, most with their own saree, police officials said.
Eight women from the 40-65 age group had been killed last year in the Shahi, Sheeshgarh and Shergarh police station areas, which border each other. In all of the cases, the bodies were found in sugarcane fields with the clothes dishevelled, but there were no signs of sexual assault. Another common thread in the murders was that most of the women were choked to death using the sarees they were wearing.
Three murders took place in quick succession in June last year, followed by one each in July, August and October, and two in November.
After the eighth murder, an extra force of 300 policemen, divided into 14 teams of uniformed and plainclothes officials, descended on the region, patrolling and keeping an eye on known criminals.
No other killings took place after that and even though the killer - or killers - had not been caught, local residents and the police heaved a sigh of relief.
Another Killing In August
The peace lasted all of seven months, however, before 45-year-old Anita was strangled and her body was found in a sugarcane field in July.
Anita, a resident of Bhujiya Jagir village in Shergarh had gone to her maternal home in Fatehganj's Khirka village. She left the house on July 2 and went to a bank to withdraw some money. Her body was found in a sugarcane field and a post-mortem revealed that she had been strangled with her saree.
An official said they had suspicions that one person, a serial killer, could be behind last year's murders and the killing in July has strengthened those suspicions. The Uttar Pradesh police brass has also become involved and Additional Director General of Police Ramit Sharma, Inspector General Rakesh Kumar and Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya and Superintendent of Police Manush Pareek were among those who reached the spot where the body was found to take stock of the situation.
Sketches Released
After speaking to several people from the areas where the murders took place, the police have released the sketches of three suspects. They have also issued a list of phone numbers for people to call if they have any leads, including 9554402549 and 9258256969 for the office of the Superintendent of Police (South), Bareilly.
SP (South) Manush Pareek said, "A woman's body was found in a sugarcane field in the Shahi police station area on July 2. A case has been registered and many teams have been deployed. Some similar murders have been carried out before this as well and we are trying to ascertain how many of them are connected."
"Many teams are working on the case and patrols are being carried out. Checkpoints have also been set up and suspicious vehicles are being stopped for inspection. Advisories have been issued in villages, asking people to remain alert. We will soon uncover who is behind the murders," he added.
(With inputs from Randeep Singh)