Kolkata:
Three people have been arrested for murder after the body of a mentally-ill woman was exhumed from a mental asylum's backyard in Dhaniakhali in West Bengal's Hooghly district, police said on Thursday.
"Three people were arrested on Wednesday night in connection with the murder of Gudiya, whose body was earlier exhumed. We are interrogating the accused," AK Singh, officer-in-charge of Gurap police station, said.
There are allegations that the 32-year-old woman was raped and then killed.
Police are looking for more people, including prime accused Shyamal Ghosh.
The body was first sent to Chinsurah in the district for post-mortem examination. But since the body was highly decomposed, the authorities planned to send it to Kolkata, preferably to the SSKM Hospital for autopsy, said the officer.
Meanwhile, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has sought from the district administration an action taken report (ATR) in the case.
"We have taken cognisance of the incident from media reports and asked for an ATR from the district magistrate (Sripriya Rengarajan) and police superintendent (Tanmay Roychowdhury) within 10 days. On the basis of the report, we'll decide the future course of action," NCW chairperson Mamta Sharma said.
Confirming the ATR, Rengarajan said: "I have heard about the report but yet to receive it. We will start a probe once we formally receive it."
West Bengal Women & Child Development and Social Welfare Minister Sabitri Mitra has also ordered a probe into the case.
"Three people have already been arrested and I have asked the police to thoroughly investigate the matter and bring to book the guilty," Ms Mitra said.
Inmates of the state-run asylum have alleged that Shyamal Ghosh, the prime accused, often used to torture them and said that he had severely thrashed Gudiya a few days before her disappearance.