Horror as woman, 50, ‘killed with spade, raped and dismembered with saw’ | World | News

A convicted killer has been accused of raping and murdering a farm worker in a second horrific murder. Police have launched an investigation after the woman was found dismembered on the banks of a river.

The suspect, who was jailed in 2017 for killing a woman, has now been arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting, murdering and dismembering the farm worker. He reportedly broke into her home on Monday, July 6, before striking her with a spade. He then allegedly raped her and used a saw found inside her house to dismember her remains. The woman’s body parts were then allegedly wrapped and dumped on the banks of a river.

The suspect has been named as Ram Prasad Sonwani. He is accused of killing 50-year-old Duklahin Bai Banjare in the village of Sonpuri in the Indian state of Chhattisgarh.

Sonwani was convicted of killing a woman in the same village nine years ago. Local media have reported that the recent victim, who lived in Raipur, was in the area to look after her family’s farm.

After not hearing from her for a few days, her son reported her missing to the police. Officers launched an urgent search before finding her remains on the banks of the Shivnath River – a tributary of the Mahanadi River in central India.

A forensic team and sniffer dogs were called to the scene, and detectives started to build evidence. They soon identified Sonwani as the main suspect before arresting him.

They recovered the murder weapon and the saw, as well as Rs 500 (£3.86) of the Rs 2,500 (£19.31) that Sonwani is accused of stealing from the victim’s home.

He has now been charged with murder, rape, destruction of evidence, robbery and further offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, India’s criminal code.

He has not yet entered a plea. The case is expected to proceed to trial at a later date.