Murder FIR lodged in death of 85-year-old UK woman in central Delhi home

Doctors flagged head injuries and inconsistencies in autopsy; police say no evidence of foul play yet, family members still to be questioned.

Published on: Sep 23, 2025, 05:56:18 IST

By Jignasa Sinha

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Nearly two months after an 85-year-old UK woman was found dead at her bungalow in central Delhi’s Janpath Road area, Delhi Police lodged a murder case against unidentified people. Police said that initially the incident was concluded as a natural death, but post mortem examination revealed head injuries along with some inconclusive statements, so they are now probing the matter.

Police say the case was initially deemed natural death; confusion arose as doctors recorded natural death but noted injuries, forcing registration of FIR. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The deceased, Pauline C, resided with her son and daughter-in-law at the staff quarters near JDU Headquarters on the Jantar Mantar Road.

Deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (New Delhi) Devesh Kumar Mahla confirmed that an FIR was lodged two weeks back after the doctors who conducted the post mortem found some inconsistencies.

According to police, Pauline’s family was allocated the bungalow and have been living there for sometime. Her son works at a firm while her daughter-in-law is a fashion designer, police said.

“In July, the family’s house help had found the woman lying dead in her room. It was suspected that she slipped and fell from her bed and died. Other family members were not at home at the time of the incident. The family informed us about the death and her body was sent for a post mortem examination,” an investigating officer said.

Police said the post mortem report, which was received this month, showed natural death but the doctors raised some inconclusive remarks on the report.

“We thought it was a natural death but the report is a bit confusing. She had head injuries. So, to take action as per legal course, we have lodged a murder FIR. However, in the last two weeks, we have not found any evidence suggesting murder or foul play. We are yet to interrogate all the family members,” added the officer.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jignasa Sinha
Jignasa Sinha is a Special Correspondent at Hindustan Times in New Delhi. With more than six years of reporting experience, she covers crime and policing in the national capital. Her beats also include Delhi prisons, the Delhi Fire Services and Delhi courts, while she regularly reports on gender, labour and social justice. Over the course of her career, Jignasa has reported on major criminal investigations, international crime syndicates, high-profile cyber fraud cases, law-and-order developments, protests, disasters and public institutions. Her reporting combines breaking news with in-depth, long form, human interest stories that examine the human impact of public policy, policing and the criminal justice system. In addition to reporting for the newspaper, she contributes to the Hindustan Times website and app, and plays an active role in coordinating on-ground coverage of major developments and breaking news across Delhi. Before joining Hindustan Times, Jignasa worked at The Indian Express newspaper in New Delhi, where she spent five years covering crime, Delhi airport, courts and health. She began her journalism career as an intern at an AI magazine in Bengaluru while pursuing her postgraduate diploma in multimedia journalism at the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media.Read More

Catch every big hit, every wicket with Crickit, a one stop destination for Live Scores, Match Stats, Infographics & much more. Explore now!

Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.