Meerut, Dec. 17 -- A gruesome instance of rape and murder of a woman has surfaced with the discovery of her skeletal remains in a suitcase in a sugarcane field near National Highway-9 in Hapur district on December 1, police said. The victim was later identified as a resident of Simdega district in Jharkhand. Police said the woman was brought to Delhi to work as a househelp by one Ankit Kumar from the Simbhawali area of Hapur and his wife Kalista alias Kali from Simdega. In Delhi, she was allegedly raped by Ankit and, later, beaten to death upon resisting and threatening him with a police complaint on August 27. Two days later, her body, stuffed in the suitcase, was discarded by the field. Both husband and wife were arrested in Hapur's Pilkhuwa on Monday, the police confirmed. According to investigators, the couple allegedly ran a racket wherein they brought poor and vulnerable young women from Jharkhand to the Delhi-NCR region with the promise of domestic work and then illegally confined and exploited them. They said the Simdega woman's body was kept hidden in the couple's rented accommodation for two days. On the night of August 29, Ankit allegedly hired an autorickshaw and dumped the suitcase in the field opposite Rama Hospital, before fleeing back to Delhi. The remains remained undiscovered for nearly three months until some farmers noticed the suitcase. Meanwhile, a missing woman's report was registered at Delhi's Vivek Vihar police station. During the probe, a domestic worker informed investigators that she had witnessed the murder. She further alleged that the accused couple threatened and sexually assaulted her to silence her. Additional SP Vineet Bhatnagar said a joint operation by the Pilkhuwa police and the district SWAT team led to the successful arrest of the husband-wife duo on Monday. Police have recovered the murder weapon, three mobile phones containing incriminating videos, and other crucial evidence from the accused. Both Ankit Kumar and Kalista alias Kali have been sent to judicial custody, and further investigation is underway....