Muzaffarnagar (UP), Feb 1 (PTI) A 21-year-old woman was allegedly raped and strangled to death by her brother-in-law and two others, after which they burned her body in an attempt to destroy evidence in Uttar Pradesh's Muzaffarnagar district, police said on Saturday.

Superintendent of Police (SP) (Rural) Aditya Bansal said the main accused, Ashish, has been arrested, while Shubham and Deepak are absconding.

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The incident took place in Bavana village of Budhana area, when the woman's family reported her missing on January 23, the officer said.

Investigations revealed that Ashish, her elder sister's husband, was pressuring her to marry him, police said.

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According to officials, the accused along with his associates, lured the woman away from her home, gang-raped her and later strangled her to death. They then allegedly burned her body in an attempt to destroy the evidence.

Ashish was arrested, following which he confessed to the crime. The woman's charred remains have been recovered and a forensic examination is underway, he added.

A case has been registered against the accused, and efforts are on to apprehend the absconding duo. A strict action will be taken against those involved, and further investigation is underway, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)