Agra (PTI): A 25-year-old Dalit woman was raped and strangled allegedly by a Uttar Pradesh Police Constable posted in Agra, police here said on Tuesday.

The woman's body was found hanging from the ceiling of the policeman's rented room on December 29, they said.

According to police, the woman had visited the constable's rented room in Agra a day before the incident.

RK Singh, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Chhata, said, "Raghvendra Singh (27), a police constable posted in Agra has been arrested in the murder of a 25-year-old woman who was found hanging in his rented room in Belanganj under the limits of Chhata Police Station in Agra city."

Agra Police has booked the constable under sections 306, 376 and SC/ST Act of IPC, he said. The post mortem report revealed hanging as the cause of death.

"Constable Raghavendra Singh is a native of Jhansi and was living in rented accommodation in Belanganj. The two were known to each other from the past. The girl was working at a Kidney Centre in Gurugram," RK Singh said.

The officer said that on the day of the incident Singh had come to his office but left early. Later he informed his colleagues about the incident.

He was arrested on Sunday on the complaint of the family members of the woman.

According to her brother, the two had taken training for nursing in Jhansi and had been in touch since.

"We had even visited the home of Raghvendra Singh, but his family refused our offer of marriage. But he was in touch with my sister," he said.

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Mumbai (PTI): The initial report submitted by the microbiology department of a Mumbai-based state-run hospital has said no "bacterial infection" was detected in the bodies of four family members, who died after consuming watermelon recently, officials said on Wednesday.

The Dokadia family, residents of Ghari Mohalla on Ismail Kurte Road, had hosted a get-together of relatives on the night of April 25. At around 1 am (on April 26), hours after the guests had left, Abdullah Dokadia (40), his wife Nasreen (35), and daughters Ayesha (16) and Zaineb (13) ate pieces of a watermelon.

They suffered severe bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea in the early hours of April 26 and were rushed to a local hospital before being referred to the government-run J J Hospital where all four died during treatment.

After the incident, Mumbai police, forensic experts and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials visited the house and had collected samples of every food item that constituted the family's last meal, including 'chicken pulav', watermelon, water, and other foodstuffs, and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory for analysis.

After the post-mortem of the deceased, their viscera was preserved for chemical analysis.

As the probe is underway, the microbiology department of the state-run J J Hospital has submitted its initial report to the police.

"As per the report, no bacterial infection has been detected so far in the bodies of the victims. No bacteria was found in their blood," the official said.

The exact cause of the death will be known once the forensic science lab submits its report, he said.

"The report will also clarify whether any food items consumed by the family members during the day contained anything poisonous," the official said.