23-year-old woman gangraped and killed in India, two suspects held

In a chilling reminder of the 2012 Delhi gangrape case, a 23-year-old woman was kidnapped, gangraped and killed in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

The horrific incident took place in the state's Rohtak district, barely 70 kms away from the national capital, last Tuesday, but it came to light only Saturday when her body was found lying in a vacant plot, with her skull in pieces and parts bitten off stray animals.

Police said Sunday they have arrested two suspects in connection with the brutal killing of the woman, one of whom was a jilted lover.

It was the jilted lover who plotted the crime after the woman spurned his advances.

"We have formed a special investigation team for quick probe of the case," Mohd Akil, additional director general of Haryana police, told the media.

Doctors said that the woman was first drugged and then gangraped for hours.

The crime took place barely a week after four men were sentenced to death by India's Supreme Court for the brutal and fatal gangrape of a 23-year-old medical student on a bus in Delhi five years ago.

The fifth suspect in the case allegedly committed suicide during the trial, while the sixth one, a juvenile, was released after serving three years in a remand home.

The crime sparked nationwide protests and compelled then Indian government led by the Congress to toughen sexual assault law.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)