Elderly who helped people fight dowry cases murdered

NEW DELHI: An elderly woman, who helped fight dowry cases, was found murdered inside her house in northeast Delhi’s MS Park on Monday morning.

NEW DELHI: An elderly woman, who helped fight dowry cases, was found murdered inside her house in northeast Delhi’s MS Park on Monday morning.

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The woman Vimla Tiwari, 62, ran an NGO and helped women file RTI queries to fight cases related to dowry.

The incident came to light on Monday morning when a neighbour went to check on Tiwari at her flat. Vimla lived alone. Police said the neighbour found the main door open and went in. Vimla was lying on the ground with a rope around her neck. Police said she was first strangled and then bludgeoned to death by a sharp object.

Vimla may have been murdered on Sunday afternoon, police suspect.

Oneof her friends in the Ashok Nagar Colony, with whom she shared regular evening walks, told police that Vimla did not join her for evening walk on Sunday. On Monday morning, when she did not see Vimla, she went inside to check on her and saw her dead. She informed the locals after which the police was informed.

Investigating officers said prima facie, it appears she was murdered by someone known to her. The entry to the house was not forced and police have found water glasses in one of the rooms, suggesting she may have offered water to her killers. The main locker, where cash and jewellery was stored, was found ransacked.

Police suspect the ransacking may be a ploy to mislead investigators.

“She lived alone and her son Ankit lived with his family nearby. We are probing her call details records. It is possible she may have been murdered by someone whose case she handled in the past,” said an officer.

Investigation revealed that the woman’s husband, Vinod, a businessman in UP, was murdered three years ago. An investigating officer said that they have scanned CCTV footage from the colony and found two bikers loitering in the area on Sunday evening.