Main accused in Gurugram DLF 1 senior’s murder held

The police said the man had worked as a construction labourer at the woman’s house for three days and had roped in his cousin, an autorickshaw driver, for the crime.

A fortnight after a 72-year-old woman was murdered at her home in DLF Phase-1, the police late Wednesday night arrested the main suspect who had allegedly planned the murder to loot valuables from the residence of the deceased. The police said the man had worked as a construction labourer at the woman’s house for three days and had roped in his cousin, an autorickshaw driver, for the crime.

A fortnight after a 72-year-old woman was murdered at her home in DLF Phase-1, the police late Wednesday night arrested the main suspect who had allegedly planned the murder to loot valuables from the residence of the deceased.

The accused daily wager, Dudh Kumar, 28, a native of village Kaliganj in Nadia district of West Bengal, was arrested from Old Delhi railway station on Wednesday night after a tip-off that he would come to the area. The second accused in the case, Gautam Dass, was arrested on August 8 from Nadia by teams from DLF-1 police station and Sector 31 crime branch.

The police said that Kumar was among several construction workers who were employed for work in the victim’s backyard.

On August 2, Indra Khanna, a retired administrator of an export house, was found dead in the kitchen of her house, where she had been living alone for over 22 years. Her body was discovered by her sister and her brother-in-law, who had gone to check on her after their calls went unanswered. The jewellery that the victim was wearing was missing and a stole was found around her neck.

Gurugram police spokesperson Subhash Boken said in a statement, “Kumar had observed that the woman lived alone. After working at her house, he hatched a plan to murder her and steal her belongings. He roped in his cousin for the crime. They had done a reconnaissance of the house for three days.”

Investigating officer in the case Balraj said the articles of jewellery stolen by the accused were yet to be recovered. Kumar was produced in a district court on Thursday and remanded to police custody for three days.

According to the police, on August 2, Kumar entered the house around 9.15 am after ringing the doorbell as he was acquainted with the victim. His cousin, Dass, allegedly climbed the wall of the house and entered through the kitchen. Both allegedly smothered the woman with a stole and escaped after taking the jewellery that she was wearing.

The police had questioned over 200 labourers in Chakkarpur and Sikanderpur villages and scanned CCTV footage in the area before arriving on a lead, which led them to the village of the accused men in Kaliganj.