Woman robbed, murdered at home in Mumbai

An unidentified person entered a ground-plus-two-storey structure at Malwani in Malad (West) and murdered a 47-year-old woman on Tuesday early morning, even as 10

An unidentified person entered a ground-plus-two-storey structure at Malwani in Malad (West) and murdered a 47-year-old woman on Tuesday early morning, even as 10 of her family members were asleep at home.

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The woman was allegedly strangled with her dupatta and her body was found by her son after he returned from work around 6am. Cash worth ₹1 lakh and a gold chain and earrings, collectively worth ₹95,000, were missing, said police.

The victim, identified as Kanchan Singh, resided on the first floor with her two sons. Police suspect that the accused was known to Singh as there are no signs of forced entry.

Singh’s family members also did not hear Singh scream for help, noted the police. The accused allegedly locked the rooms of the ground and second floor before committing the crime.

The ground floor is occupied by her mother, two brothers, one of the brother’s wife and children. Singh’s younger sister, her husband and their children lived on the second floor. One of Singh’s sons works in Bengaluru, while the other, Deepak, works at a call centre from 7pm to 6am.

The victim’s sister, Pinky Gupta, said, “I was chatting with didi [Singh] till 10.30pm on Monday, after which she went to sleep. I went out for a garba event and returned by 11.30pm. My husband also came home later and we went to sleep by 1.30am. We did not hear any noise throughout the night. In the morning, her son woke us up. He unlocked our door from the outside and said that she had been murdered.”

“We suspect the involvement of a neighbour, who had a monetary dispute with didi. She [the neighbour] had also once alleged that didi’s son had misbehaved with her daughter,” she said.

Jagdeo Kalapad, senior inspector of Malwani police station said, “We have registered a case under section 302 (murder) and 397 (robbery or dacoity with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code. There are no CCTV cameras in the area. We are trying to look for witnesses.”