Overview

• Saira left home Saturday to gather cattle fodder and was found dead by her mother the next morning in a maize field in Moradabad’s Mainather area.
• The autopsy report identified over 40 stab wounds across her body, including injuries to her private parts, and ruled her death a result of excessive bleeding.
• Twenty-year-old Mohammad Rafi alias Arif was arrested Monday and admitted to strangling Saira before repeatedly stabbing her with a screwdriver.
• Investigators recovered the screwdriver and Saira’s mobile phone from Rafi, who said he acted out of jealousy after she arranged for him to be beaten and allegedly spoke to another man.
• Authorities classify the case under intimate partner violence and are reviewing protective measures amid growing concern over stalking and harassment of women in the region.