Himani Narwal murder: Police arrest one accused of killing Haryana Congress worker

Himani had walked alongside Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jammu and Kashmir

One person has been arrested in connection with the murder of Congress worker Himani Narwal, police officials said on Monday.

Himani Narwal, an office-bearer of the Youth Congress in Rohtak, was found dead on Saturday. Her body was found inside a suitcase near the Sampla bus stand on the Rohtak-Delhi highway.

According to the Haryana Congress, Narwal was an active and dedicated party worker, who also took part in Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Yatra earlier. They said she was pursuing law degree and had been associated with the party for the last nearly a decade.

On Sunday, the police set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the murder of the 23-year-old Congress worker. Four teams of the Rohtak Police were looking for the culprits, PTI quoted a police official.

According to the police, Narwal’s body, which was found in a suitcase in Rohtak district on Saturday, bore some injury marks.

Himani had last spoken to her mother on February 27 and informed her that she was going to attend a friend’s wedding in Rohtak. “She also told me that she was supposed to attend a Congress roadshow in the Kathmandi area on February 28. Her cell phone has been switched off since then,” news agency PTI quoted Himani’s mother as saying.

Her mother even claimed that Himani was thinking of quitting Congress. “There were several people within the party who were unhappy with her success,” she said.

The family has decided not to perform the last rites of their daughter until police arrest those responsible for her death.

Narwal's brother Jatin told The Week that he came to know about the death on Sunday morning when the police rang up his mother. "I got a call from the police station that the body of a woman named Himani has been found. They asked me to come and identify her. We identified her and have agreed to postmortem, but will not perform the last rites until the culprit is behind bars. My sister was an active member of the Congress party for 10 years and she was close to Bhupendra Singh Hooda. We appeal to the government and administration for justice," Jatin said.