Rajkot: Gandhidham City B Division police in Kutch district arrested a 23-year-old man on Monday in connection with the alleged rape and murder of a 45-year-old woman whose body was found near the Machhunagar railway crossing on Saturday.Police said the accused, Premsingh Puribag, hails from Odisha. The woman’s son had initially lodged a complaint against an unidentified person under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) after her body was found in a naked condition among thorny bushes.According to police, the woman had left her home carrying a tiffin to go to work at a private company. While she was walking along a road flanked by thorny bushes, Puribag allegedly grabbed her. When she raised an alarm, he strangled her and sexually assaulted her after she lost consciousness before leaving her body in the bushes.Kutch East superintendent of police Sagar Bagmar said teams from the local crime branch, forensic science laboratory, dog squad and technical analysis unit were deployed to investigate the case.Police recovered a handkerchief and a pair of slippers from the crime scene, which they believe may be linked to the accused. CCTV footage showed a man walking along a nearby road about an hour before the incident, with a handkerchief wrapped around his head, police said.Investigators traced the suspect near the Indiranagar railway tracks. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
