Chandigarh, Sept. 22: Less than 48 hours before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh arrives, the city was rattled by the gangrape of a 23-year-old woman last night, while a 20-year-old was raped and murdered in neighbouring Panchkula, Haryana.

In Chandigarh, the 23-year-old was waiting for transport at a bus stand in the busy Sector 22 area, when three persons forced her into a white car and raped her. Medical examination has confirmed rape.

“She reported the matter in the morning. We have registered an FIR and are looking for the culprits,” a police officer said.

The woman, a mother of two, had been living on her own after being separated from her husband and is employed by a real estate agent.

In Panchkula, the half-naked body of a 20-year-old woman, Meenu, was discovered near Ralli village by residents of the area. The police said she had been raped and then murdered.

The rapes and murder come barely two days before the Prime Minister is scheduled to inaugurate the Rajiv Gandhi Chandigarh Technology Park and preside over a function organised by a local daily.

The administration is in a tizzy and are making frantic efforts to ensure that there are no more such incidents and the Prime Minister’s stay on Saturday passes off uneventfully.

This would be the first time since Jawaharlal Nehru visited Chandigarh 50 years ago ? to ensure that Le Corbusier got maximum leeway in designing a city of the future ? that another Prime Minister would be staying overnight.

The Prime Minister will also lay a plaque for a controversial media tower proposed to be constructed by the press club.

Senior officials are believed to be opposed to the construction of the tower. An official said it would encourage other organisations that have leased land for a pittance.