Hands tied, face burnt: Woman's body found in Noida dumping yard

Representative image

• Woman's body found in Noida dumping yard with face burned by acid
• Police investigating identity and cause of death; autopsy pending
• CCTV footage and missing persons reports being checked for leads

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The body of an unidentified woman was found inside a black storage bag at a dumping yard in Noida’s Sector 145 on Saturday evening, police said. Her hands and legs were tied together, and acid appeared to have been used to burn her face, possibly to hide her identity.

Ragpickers discovered the bag and alerted the authorities around 6.30 pm, said Santosh Kumar, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (ADCP), Central Noida. The woman, believed to be in her early 20s, was wearing black pants but no upper clothing. Officials noted that there were no immediate signs of sexual assault.

A senior police officer said that the woman’s face was disfigured, likely using acid, to prevent identification. “It is suspected that her face was disfigured to conceal her identity,” Hindustan Times quoted the police official as saying.

Her body also showed swelling and superficial cuts on the neck, but no other major injuries were found. At present, police are yet to determine how she died and whether the case involves foul play.

Since the woman had no personal belongings or identification documents, authorities are still trying to ascertain her identity. Photographs and details of her appearance have been circulated to all police stations in Noida and neighbouring districts to help trace her.

Three police teams have been formed to examine CCTV footage in the area and across other dumping yards in Gautam Budh Nagar district. Sector 145 is the largest dumping site in the district, receiving waste from multiple other yards. “There was no CCTV at the spot. We are checking footage to see if she was dumped here or transported along with garbage from another location,” said the ADCP.

The body has been sent to a postmortem house, but the examination will take place only after a 72-hour wait for identification. Meanwhile, teams are investigating missing persons complaints of women aged between 15 and 18 and have been deployed in surrounding districts to check for any links.

Sector 142 Station House Officer Vinod Kumar said, “A case will be registered after receiving the autopsy report, which will establish the cause of death.” Police are also examining any leads from local residents and nearby areas to identify the woman and trace her movements prior to her death.