Senior citizen, principal’s murders: Police still looking for leads, clueless on motive

Rukshmani Damji Visaria, 67, was found dead in her third-floor apartment in Mulund (West) on September 9. So far, the police know that she was stabbed on the neck

Rukshmani Damji Visaria, 67, was found dead in her third-floor apartment in Mulund (West) on September 9. So far, the police know that she was stabbed on the neck and back, and was smothered to death using a pillow. Mulund police and the city’s crime branch are running parallel probes into Visaria’s murder, but neither has yielded any suspects so far.

Deputy commissioner of police zone 7, Akhileshkumar Singh said, “We are probing the case taking in consideration all aspects and no theory has been ruled out.”

The police suspect this may be a robbery gone wrong as Visaria had returned from a 55-day long pilgrimage just the day before. However, although there is evidence of her cupboard being tampered with, none of Visaria’s jewellery was missing.

Mulund police has questioned known history-sheeters and criminals known for break-ins, but nothing useful was gained from this exercise. CCTV footage has also not helped to identify suspects.

Visaria’s family says the elderly woman had no enemies. “My mother had devoted her life to spirituality and did not have any enemies. She visited temple and only interacted with her senior citizen group,” said Nitin, who runs a garment shop, on Tuesday. Nitin and his brother Mehul believe the police’s theory that robbers had broken into the flat expecting it to be empty, panicked when they found Visaria at home and then fled. “Someone may have kept a watch on the flat which was locked as my mother was away,” said Mehul, adding that the family was now “living in fear”.

Both Nitin and Mehul have been questioned by the police and are cooperating with the investigation. The police have also questioned four Nepali nationals who were seen loitering around in the area before the murder.