Two brothers, one of whom is suspected of raping the woman, killed the 19-year-old woman by stabbing her to death in the open in the Kaushambi district of Uttar Pradesh, police said on Tuesday morning. A few days prior to the horrific murder, Ashok and Pawan Nishad, the killers, were reportedly freed on bond, according to the police.
Authorities said that the woman, who was axe-murdered in front of terrified villagers on the main road, had accused Pawan Nishad of raping her when she was a minor three years prior.

In an attempt to have the woman and her family drop all charges, Pawan Nishad and his associates allegedly harassed them ever since the alleged rape.

According to police, Ashok Nishad, Pawan’s brother, was freed less than two days prior to the young woman’s murder and is charged in a different murder case. By now, Pawan had been released from prison, and according to the police, the two had planned to confront the woman’s family and pressure them to drop the case.

The young woman was returning from grazing her family’s cattle at a nearby field when the brothers ambushed and killed her because she would not back down, according to the police.

Police also said that Pawan and Ashok Nishad are currently fugitives.

“Members of one party killed the girl with a sharp weapon during a dispute between two parties over an old rivalry and lawsuit in the same community. The accused have been booked after a police complaint was made, according to Brijesh Srivastava, Superintendent of Police for Kaushambi.

The horrifying event happened in the Mahewaghat Police Station neighborhood in the village of Dherha.

According to Mr. Srivastava, the police have sent the young woman’s body for a post-mortem examination and have assembled teams to find and apprehend the accused.