Youth beheads his 80-year-old grandmother in Mumbai; held

Bandra police on Tuesday morning arrested a 24-year-old man for allegedly beheading his grandmother at her home in Cosma Colony near Mount Mary church on Monday night. The police said the accused, Christopher Pereira, sat next to the body of the 80-year-old victim, identified as Rosy Ganesh Rao, after the murder, until the police reached the spot and arrested him.

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Pereira was addicted to alcohol and was at a rehabilitation centre in Thane for the past one-and-a-half years. On Monday evening, he was discharged from the centre and returned home.

The police have refused to divulge any further details.

The murder came to light around 10am on Tuesday when Pereira’s cousin and Rao’s granddaughter Abigail Dias went to the victim’s home. Pereira told Dias that he had committed the murder. Dias then called the police, following which Pereira was arrested.

Pereira’s parents are in Goa and they have been informed about the murder, said police officers. Abhishek Trimukhe, deputy commissioner of police (DCP), zone 9, said, “We have registered a case under 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the accused is in police custody. The exact time of murder and motive behind the brutal murder is still under investigation.”