A 60-year-old destitute was raped and murdered by miscreants near the Indira Canteen building on the premises of the district hospital here. The incident came to light in the early hours of Saturday.
Police recovered the victim's body that had deep injuries on the face. The miscreants had stuffed the woman's mouth with cotton and cloth. Police suspect that the woman was dragged inside the passage of the canteen building, which is yet to be inaugurated, where they raped and murdered her.
The hospital staff found the body when they went to the building to clean the place.
Dr S T Kalasad, director of the Belagavi Institute of Medical Sciences, said the woman, who was mentally unsound, had been admitted to the hospital a month ago and was later discharged. But she continued to stay there.
Police say the crime could be the handiwork of someone well acquainted with the hospital premises.
APMC police station inspector J M Kalimirchi visited the spot and the body was sent for post mortem.
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