Man arrested for Kho Kho player's murder in UP

The Uttar Pradesh Police have arrested a man for allegedly killing a 24-year-old national-level Kho Kho player following a failed rape attempt.

The woman's body was found at a railway station in Bijnor.

The police arrested the accused with the help of an audio clip shared by a friend of the victim, who was on call when the incident took place.

According to the police, the incident took place at around 2 pm on September 10 when the Dalit woman was returning home after giving a job interview.

The accused Shahzad a.k.a Khadim, who worked as a labourer at the railway station, saw her and dragged her to the cement railway sleepers and attempted to rape her.

When the woman, who was on a call with a friend, tried to shout for help, the accused strangled her with her dupatta and a rope.

The woman's friend overheard her screaming for help on the phone before she fell silent.

The accused escaped from the place with the woman's mobile, leaving her on the same cement sleeper.

Her bruised body was later found in a pool of blood.

Her family alleged that she was raped.

The accused had switched off the phone after reaching home but tracing its last location, the police reached his residence and nabbed him on Tuesday evening.

The police also recovered a slipper and two broken buttons of a shirt from the crime spot, which belonged to the accused.

The accused's shirt had blood stains, which were later washed by his wife, the police said.

The police also found nail marks on the accused's back which were allegedly made by the girl when he was forcing himself on her.

The samples have been sent for forensic examination to confirm if the nail marks matched the woman's DNA.

According to the police, the accused is married and has a daughter.

He is a drug addict. He has four complaints lodged against him at the local police station for allegedly stealing things from the railway station.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Dharamveer Singh has announced a reward of Rs 25,000 to the team involved in the cracking this case within three days.

Singh said that the police would produce Khadim in a court on Wednesday and seek his remand.