Elderly woman found dead in Malad; maid, lover arrested

The accused have been identified as Mohammed Umer Shaikh, 71, Shabnam Shaikh, 42 and Shehzad Umer Shaikh, 21. Shabnam, the domestic help, has been dating Mohammed for a long time. Shehzad is the son of Mohammed.

Mumbai: Three people – a maid, her boyfriend and his son – were arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing a 69-year-old woman in Orlem, Malad West.

“We then started checking the CCTV footage and found that her house help, Shabnam, a resident of Malwani, who worked with the family since 1997, had come to the house for work on Thursday. She used to cook for the family, wash clothes, clean the house and give massages to the victim,” Adane added. (HT PHOTO)

The accused have been identified as Mohammed Umer Shaikh, 71, Shabnam Shaikh, 42 and Shehzad Umer Shaikh, 21. Shabnam, the domestic help, has been dating Mohammed for a long time. Shehzad is the son of Mohammed.

As per the police, the victim – identified as Marie Selin Wilfred D’costa, a resident of New Life Co-operative Housing Society – was found dead with her head submerged in a bucket filled with water in her residence on Thursday evening.

“Marie’s grandson, Neil Raybole, 26, was staying with her while his mother stayed in Mira Road with his father. On Thursday, Raybole went to the office. He needed an OTP that had come on Marie’s mobile phone and was trying to contact her. However, she was not answering the calls,” said a police officer from Malad Police Station. “He then called her neighbour, Rojinold Carvalho, who knocked several times on her door, but Marie didn’t open it. Then, the neighbour opened the door with a duplicate key.”

The officer added that Rojinold found Marie in the bathroom with her head submerged in the water bucket and immediately informed Neil about it. He then called a local doctor who visited the house and on checking, declared her dead.

Later the body was taken to Shatabdi Hospital for post-mortem to find out the cause of death.

“We had initially registered an accidental death report in the matter as the family didn’t suspect any foul play,” said Ravi Adane, senior police inspector of Malad Police Station.

However, he added that later the family told them two mobile phones, two watches and one gold chain was missing from the house.

“We then started checking the CCTV footage and found that her house help, Shabnam, a resident of Malwani, who worked with the family since 1997, had come to the house for work on Thursday. She used to cook for the family, wash clothes, clean the house and give massages to the victim,” Adane added.

The footage revealed that apart from Shabnam, her adopted son Shehzad had also come, he said, adding, “The footage also showed that the duo had allowed a third person to enter the house who was wearing a mask and a cap.”

When the cops questioned Shabnam and Shehzad about the third person, they initially said that they allowed him as Marie had asked them to do so.

“However, in some footage, the cops found the third man talking to Shabnam and Shehzad. That’s when finally, they broke down and confessed that the third person was Mohammed, who is a resident of Vasai and father of Shehzad,” said the police officer.

Mohammed, a driver, suffocated Marie with a pillow, said Adane, adding, “They wanted to rob the house. Marie’s two daughters Jessica and Tanya have settled in Kuwait and keep sending her money regularly.”

The accused thought that they would get good money, however, they were unable to break the cupboard locks, the police said.

“We have got their police custody till April 26 and the trio have been booked for murder, robbery and criminal conspiracy,” added the police officer.