Lucknow: A 70-year-old woman was gang-raped and murdered in the Mohanlalganj area of Lucknow after she objected to two men drinking alcohol near her home, police said. The two suspects have been arrested in connection with the case, and evidence of the crime is being examined in the vicinity of the home.
According to police, the accused are 30-year-old Rajesh alias Guddu and 34-year-old Hariram Rawat. The arrests were made after the victim's family filed a complaint and an FIR was initiated at the Mohanlalganj police station on the basis of which the woman's family filed an FIR.
The incident occurred as the two men were reportedly drinking near the woman’s home, police said. The woman was reportedly upset about their presence and asked them about drinking near her home and there was an argument.
The situation rapidly escalated then, investigators said, with the two men attacking the elderly woman. Police have said she was sexually assaulted during the incident and later sustained fatal injuries.
The court also alleged that after the incident, the accused attempted to hide the woman’s body by moving it to a darker area behind the house. The alleged attempt at hiding evidence came to the fore when the woman’s family discovered what happened and went to the police.
Following registration of the FIR, officers began collecting evidence from the crime scene and surrounding area. CCTV footage and technical evidence were examined and local information was collected. The police were able to find out the two suspects’ location and arrest them, he added.
The case demonstrates the importance of multiple methods of investigation in serious crimes. CCTV images can inform investigators of where suspects are and who is around where, and technical evidence can connect people, places, and events. Local evidence might also help police in narrowing suspects in an investigation.
But arrests are at the beginning of the investigation, and allegations against the accused will be subject to the legal process. The evidence, forensic findings, and statements made during the investigation will determine the causes of the woman’s death and the charges made against the suspects.
The incident has also raised concerns about the safety of elderly people, especially those living in residential areas where disputes or confrontations can escalate. In such cases, police investigations are typically focused on reconstructing the sequence of events, establishing the identities and roles of those involved, and determining if the evidence supports the allegations.
In another incident related to recent attacks against women, a 17-year-old girl was sexually assaulted at Delhi’s Aastha Kunj Park near Kalkaji Mandir by three men who were posing as policemen and took the girl and her male friend to a secluded area and then assaulted her, the police said. The three suspects were identified as Asif, Hemant Singh, and Mukesh Singh.
The two cases are separate and in different police jurisdictions. But they point out the need for prompt reporting of crimes against women, evidence collection, and investigation.
#WATCH | Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh: On a 70-year-old woman found dead, DCP (South Zone) Mohd Mushtaq says, "A woman was found dead in a village... The forensic team has collected important evidence... Some people were sitting together, and they were drinking. One of them was a… pic.twitter.com/UQi0mawBkY
— ANI UP/Uttarakhand (@ANINewsUP) September 24, 2026
In Lucknow, investigators will continue to check CCTV footage, technical evidence, forensic material, and witness accounts, and will also review witness accounts as the case goes forward. Police will also have to decipher the precise sequence of events leading to the woman’s death and the alleged role of the arrested suspects.
In the course of the investigation, authorities will likely provide the evidence of the case to the court. The accused will then have an opportunity to contest the charges in court; and investigators will try to determine what actually happened.
