UP woman's body found in sack; family blames Samajwadi Party
What's the story
The body of a young Dalit woman was discovered inside a sack near the Kanjara River bridge in Karhal, Uttar Pradesh, on Wednesday.
The victim's family has accused Prashant Yadav and Mohan Katheria of her murder, claiming it was politically motivated.
They allege she was killed for supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Karhal bypolls and had previously been threatened by Yadav for not backing his party, the Samajwadi Party (SP).
Investigation underway
Family suspects sexual assault, police arrest 2 suspects
The family also suspects the woman was sexually assaulted before being murdered.
Witnesses saw two people, later identified as Yadav and Katheria, abducting her on a bike on November 19.
After the victim's father complained, both Yadav and Katheria were arrested by local police.
"Her dead body was found this morning. Her father filed a case against two people; one is Prashant Yadav and the other is Mohan Katheria," confirmed Senior Police Officer Vinod Kumar.
Political tension
Murder coincides with Karhal bypolls
The murder comes amid the bypolls in Karhal, which falls under the Mainpuri district.
The Samajwadi Party has fielded Tej Pratap Yadav from this seat, while the BJP has fielded Anujesh Yadav.
Karhal is a Samajwadi Party bastion with a large Yadav, Dalit and Muslim population.
Eight other seats, including Katehari, Mirapur, Ghaziabad, Majhawan, Sisamau, Khair, Phulpur and Kundarki, are also voting in the bypolls.