Kannauj- A woman aged around 40 years was murdered and her body dumped in a farm in Uttar Pradesh's Kannauj, a police official said on Sunday. "The body bore injuries on the face and other parts, suggesting that the victim was physically assaulted," said senior district police official Vinod Kumar. The body was spotted in the morning by a farmer, Ramvilas, in his maize field in Tahsipur Thatia village, Kumar said. A forensic team was called in to collect evidence, but prima facie it appears to be a case of murder, he said.

The police said blood stains were found at two separate spots, and the victim's bangles were also found to be broken, indicating the use of violence against her. An official said only a post-mortem examination would be able to confirm if the victim was sexually assaulted before being murdered and dumped in the field. Kumar said an investigation is also being conducted into the motive behind the murder. "We are investigating the case from all possible angles. The probe team will try to find out if the murder is linked to a family dispute, a property controversy or something else," he said.

The police said the victim's saree has not been traced yet, but her blouse and petticoat were there on her body, suggesting that an attempt may have been made to disrobe her. Some villagers claimed that there were signs that the woman's earrings had been pulled away, but police said it was not possible to say at this stage if robbery was the motive behind the crime. Earlier, the Thatia police station area attracted media attention over the honour killing of a teenage girl by her father in Asare village. On Friday, the victim’s father, Mahendra Jatav, admitted to killing her daughter to implicate her lover.

He was arrested after his confession. He told police that he had killed his daughter with two relatives and burnt her body in a jungle in Karsah. He even paid Rs 70,000 to two persons from a neighbouring village to dispose of the body. Jatav had filed a missing complaint for her daughter in February to mislead the police into believing that she was killed by her lover.