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In Gujarat, a 33-year-old man has been arrested for the rape and murder of a 76-year-old woman. According to the police, the accused Ramesh Vaidhukia was acquitted by the Gujarat High Court a few months ago in the case of rape and murder of a three-year-old girl in 2018. In that case the trial court had sentenced him to death.

According to police, the body of a 76-year-old woman was found on August 21 near Aji Dam on the Rajkot-Bhavnagar Highway. During the investigation, the police examined the footage of CCTV cameras installed on about 13 kilometers of the route. On the basis of the footage, the police reached the accused and arrested him.

Elderly woman used to beg near the temple

According to the police, the woman used to earn her living by begging near the Sat Hanuman Temple located on Rajkot-Ahmedabad Highway. His grandson told that he had left him near the temple on the morning of 19 August. When he returned in the evening the woman was not there. Even after extensive searches, he was not found, so a missing complaint was lodged at Kuwadwa Road Police Station on August 20. The next day, the woman's body was found near Moghal Mataji Temple near Aji Dam. Initially the police had registered a case of accidental death. Later, after the woman was identified, the investigation was intensified.

During investigation, it came to light that the accused had made the woman sit in his rickshaw after asking her to drop him home. In the CCTV footage, he was seen taking the woman in a rickshaw near the temple. According to the police, after this he took the woman to different places. Police allege that the accused raped the woman at a secluded place and beat her with a stick. After this he was beaten to death with the same stick. The accused wrapped the body in a cloth and threw it near Aaji Dam.

Death sentence was given in the 2018 case

A case of kidnapping, rape and murder of a three-year-old girl was registered against Ramesh Vaidukiya at Thorala Police Station in Rajkot in 2018. In March 2020, the trial court found him guilty in this case and sentenced him to death. After this, Ramesh challenged this decision in Gujarat High Court. In February 2026, the Gujarat High Court acquitted him.

The court said that the entire police case was based mostly on circumstantial evidence and there were many shortcomings in the chain of evidence. CCTV footage also could not convincingly prove the claims of the police. Apart from this, flaws were also found in the DNA evidence and documents to the recreation of the incident site. Due to all these reasons, the court had acquitted Ramesh by giving him the benefit of doubt. Now the police is investigating against Ramesh in the case of murder and rape of a 76-year-old woman.