GUWAHATI: Locals found a 35-year-old woman lying unconscious in a pool of blood at Gorchuk area in the city on Monday morning. Police were alerted immediately and the woman was rushed to Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH). She is under medical attention at the GMCH , but hospital sources said she has suffered facial injuries and her condition is reportedly serious.Though police are awaiting medical reports to ascertain details of the case, sources said there are suspicions that this was an incident of rape and attempted murder. So far, the investigation has found that the woman, a mother of a 16-year-old boy, was missing since Sunday, when she was known to have gone for a Bihu celebration along with her friends. She reportedly hails from Jorhat.City police commissioner Hiren Nath told TOI, "She has serious injuries on her face. The victim was residing with her son in the city's Basistapur area and was working at a private transport firm. Police are yet to take her statement and are waiting for her recovery."Police sources added that the lady has been living separately from her husband for around six years. Her son, who registered a case with the city's Basistha Police on Monday, told police that she sometimes used to go out with her friends on Sundays and came back home late.He also told police he had thought his mother had gone for Bihu celebrations when she did not return this Sunday."When the son tried to call her mother, he could not reach her cell phone. He even enquired about her whereabouts with her other friends but no one knew about it. Police are yet recover her mobile phone," the police commissioner said. A purse was seized from the spot where she was found but it did not contain any mobile phone.Preliminary investigation indicates that the culprit might be someone known to the victim. "She might have gone out with someone she knew and then the other person might have beaten her over some argument. But it is too early to say anything and her statement is vital. Due to her facial injury, she can't speak properly and she is highly disoriented too," sources informed. Her family members have been contacted already.However, the role of the city police in providing security to women has once again been brought into question after the incident. Locals alleged that the victim's body was recovered from Lachitgarh area, which is located a few hundred metres away from the Gorchuk police station."It is Bihu time and people are out till late night for celebrations. A woman was thrashed and then thrown on the road near a police station. This clearly describes the hollowness of the commitments by police and government in protecting women from violent crimes. The criminals don't seem to care much about police actions," said city residents.

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