MEERUT: A 22-year-old man allegedly murdered a Dalit woman and abducted her daughter at a village here on Thursday morning, police said.
The incident has triggered tension in the locality, prompting authorities to deploy additional police forces.
The deceased was identified as the mother of a 20-year-old woman.
According to the police, the incident occurred around 8 am at Kapsad village in the Sardhana area when the two women were walking toward their fields.
They were intercepted near a canal by the accused, identified as Paras, who worked as a compounder for a local doctor.
Reacting to the incident, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati termed the episode "tragic and worrying".
"The recent incident in Sardhana police station area of Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, where a Dalit mother was murdered and her daughter abducted, is extremely tragic, shameful, and deeply concerning," she wrote in a post on X.
"The government must take these incidents of violation of women's dignity and subsequent murder with utmost seriousness and take immediate and strict action against the culprits to prevent criminal elements from committing such heinous acts in the future. The government must pay adequate attention, especially to the issue of women's safety," she added.
Preliminary investigations suggest that Paras and the 20-year-old woman were acquaintances from the same village.
The police said the accused began misbehaving with the women.
When the mother objected, Paras allegedly struck her on the head with a sharp-edged sugarcane-cutting weapon.
He then forcibly took the younger woman away.
Villagers reached the spot upon hearing the victim's cries and took the injured woman to a hospital.
She later succumbed to her injuries during treatment.
The death led to protests at the hospital, where activists and members of the Bhim Army demanded the immediate arrest of the accused.
The demonstrations led to brief altercations with the police.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Vipin Tada said five teams, led by the Additional Superintendent of Police (Rural), have been formed to apprehend the accused and rescue the abducted woman.
Circle Officer Ashutosh Kumar said a case has been registered based on the complaint.