11 months on, two arrested for killing 75-year-old woman in Versova, Mumbai

The arrested accused, Rashedul Johad Sheikh, 21, and Noorali Abdul Sattar, 23, have several cases of house break-ins registered against them, said police.

After 11 months, DN Nagar police arrested two persons responsible for the murder of 75-year-old Gulabi Narayan Shetty. Police officers scanned through footages of 250 CCTV cameras between Andheri and Bandra. The arrested accused, Rashedul Johad Sheikh, 21, and Noorali Abdul Sattar, 23, have several cases of house break-ins registered against them, said police.

For representation. (HT FILE)

On February 23, 2020, Shetty’s daughter and another relative found her dead in her home. Shetty, who owned Chaitanya Hotel in Versova and lived alone in a house above the hotel, also owned two shops and a room, all of which she had rented out. According to Shetty’s daughter Manorama, her husband had gone to visit Shetty at 4pm on the day of the incident but she did not respond to his knocks, hence he left.

Later, around 8pm, Manorama and their relative Ramni visited the house and knocked at the door, and got no response. They then found that the door was open and found Shetty’s body in the washroom with her legs, hands, throat and face tied with a yellow sari.

Following a complaint, DN Nagar police registered a case of murder and began investigation by scanning CCTV footages from nearby areas and narrowed down on two suspects from Bandra (West) with a criminal history.

Police officers said that in one of the CCTV footage they saw two men entering Shetty’s house and leaving with a bag after some time. “But we could not identify them as they had covered their faces after noticing the CCTV camera present outside Versova police station. We tracked the two men till Infinity Mall, and then saw them entering a by-lane in Bandra, after which we could not trace them,” said a police officer. Later, police officers found that the two accused stayed in the locality and kept a watch for them.

“The accused did not return to their house for 11 months. But when they returned to their house late last night, we arrested them,” said deputy commissioner of police, zone 9, Abhishek Trimukhe.

Manorama said “We deserve justice. The two killers should get maximum punishment.”