A 48-year-old woman – estranged from her husband – was found dead at a house in Aditmari upazila of Lalmonirhat on Sunday morning, with police suspecting that she may have been raped and later strangulated to death.

The deceased was identified as Swapna Begum, daughter of late Nazmul Hossain of Dakkhin Tari village under Durgapur union.

Police recovered the body from a house belonging to her brother-in-law adjacent to her father’s home.

According to locals and police, Swapna had separation with her husband around 20 years ago and had since been living in Dhaka, though she occasionally visited her village home. She returned from Dhaka four days ago.

As no one was staying at her brother-in-law Nannu Sarkar’s house, she had been staying there alone.

Police said she went to sleep there on Saturday night. When relatives received no response from her on Sunday morning, they entered the house after finding the gate open and discovered her body. They later informed police.

Later, police recovered the body and sent it to Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital morgue for autopsy.

Locals suspected that the attackers raped her before strangling her.

Officer-in-Charge of Aditmari Police Station Nazmul Haque said police are investigating the incident to determine the motive behind the killing and identify those involved. “Legal action will be taken after the investigation,” he added.