‘This problem will persist as long as people aren’t sensitised’

A spate of murders in the city in the past one month, involving senior citizens and elderly housewives, has rattled the Mumbai police. Joint Commissioner of police, Law and Order, Rajnish Seth tells HT that sensitisation of citizens on hiring domestic helps would prove a deterrent to such incidents. Excerpts from an interview:

A spate of murders in the city in the past one month, involving senior citizens and elderly housewives, has rattled the Mumbai police. Joint Commissioner of police, Law and Order, Rajnish Seth tells HT that sensitisation of citizens on hiring domestic helps would prove a deterrent to such incidents. Excerpts from an interview:

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Five murders have been reported across the city in just a month’s time wherein the victims were elderly citizens. Isn’t it a matter of concern?
Certainly it’s a grave concern. At the same time, I would like to say that these incidents don’t indicate any pattern of violence or lack of policing.

Have you identified the troubled spots?
Western suburbs, the Bandra-Andheri stretch in particular, has recorded the maximum of such incidents. The reason is simple. This area is inhibited largely by middle and upper middle class households who often hire servants.

Have you identified any palpable trend in those murders?
In most of these cases, the attackers turn out to be domestic helps or servants who had been hired without proper verification. Take for instance one of the recent cases, wherein a 68-year-old woman was found murdered in her flat. She had hired a house help a couple of days before her murder and he has gone missing. The servant had been hired without checking his background.