DEHRADUN: A man named Dharmendra has been arrested in connection with the rape and murder of a nurse who was returning home after her shift at a hospital. The victim, a 33-year-old woman, was found dead on July 30 in Udham Singh Nagar district of Uttarakhand.

Her body was found in a deserted area in Rampur district, Uttar Pradesh, on August 8. The nurse, who worked at a private hospital in Nainital, lived with her 11-year-old daughter in Kolon, near the Uttar Pradesh border.

On the night of July 30, when the nurse did not return home, her daughter alerted relatives. The nurse’s sister then filed a police complaint. During the subsequent search, her decomposed body was found over a week later in Uttar Pradesh.

The post-mortem revealed that the woman had been brutally molested before being murdered. The investigation revealed that the accused had stolen the nurse’s gold jewelry, phone and 3,000 rupees. Dharmendra was arrested in Rajasthan following the investigation.

The suspect, who was working in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, reportedly followed the nurse and, upon reaching a deserted area, forcibly dragged her into the bushes, where he assaulted her. He then suffocated her with a cloth, leading to her death.