Hathras,

24 June (HS): On Tuesday, an old lady living as an ascetic was discovered dead

outside a hut near a shrine, with authorities assuming she was murdered by her

partner following a fight. According to police, her friend, who was also costumed

as a sadhu, is vanishing after the incident.

Locals

discovered a bloodied body outside a shack near the Bhairavnath temple in

Mendu's Hathras Junction region and notified authorities. Inspector Satyendra

Singh Raghav of the Hathras Junction police station arrived first, followed by

Circle Officer (CO) Sikandrarao, who launched an inquiry.

The

deceased has been identified as Rekha Devi (70), the wife of Amar Singh from

Bargao village in the Sikandrarao area of district. She had abandoned her family life years ago

to become an ascetic, and she had been living in a hut near the Bhairavnath

temple for many years.

The

inspector stated she was residing with another sadhu, Nem Singh. Locals informed police that Rekha and Nem

Singh had regular disagreements. It is likely that during one such

confrontation, Nem Singh fatally attacked her with a stick or other heavy item

before fleeing, he added. According to Circle Office JN Asthana, the event is

considered to be the result of a late-night quarrel between the two. She was

most likely murdered by a strike with a stick or similar heavy object. Police teams have been created to track down

Nem Singh, he added. The

corpse has been submitted for a post-mortem, and additional investigation is

continuing, he stated.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi