Borivli murder: Daughter’s friend picked up for questioning

The Borivli police late on Sunday night picked up a close friend of the daughter of the 45-year-old housewife, who was killed after allegedly being robbed at her house in a Borivli highrise on Friday.

The Borivli police late on Sunday night picked up a close friend of the daughter of the 45-year-old housewife, who was killed after allegedly being robbed at her house in a Borivli (West) highrise on Friday.

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The youth is among the six people who were brought in for questioning on suspicion of their involvement in the killing. “We have narrowed down on the primary suspects. Our investigation is at a crucial stage. It is too early to give out the details,” said a senior officer, who did not wish to be named.

The woman, Seema Pathare, was alone at her 11th floor apartment in Krishna Classic building, when the assailant is believed to have entered the flat and attacked her.

Preliminary investigations suggested that Pathare could have been taking a nap, when her attacker smothered her and fled with the valuables. There was no sign of struggle and her daughter Manasi, 19, found her body in the bedroom.

“We are questioning six to seven suspects and are trying to ascertain their role. We cannot rule out the possibility of a personal dispute,” said Narayan Khaire, senior inspector at Borivli police station.

Though the officials have questioned Pathare’s house help, the police claim she is unlikely to have been involved in the crime.

“It does not look like the woman had anything to do with the murder. However, we have not given a clean chit to anyone,” said the officer.

Balsingh Rajput, deputy commissioner of police, zone XI, said, “We have not arrested anyone so far. We are still verifying facts before arriving at any conclusion.”

The police officers are awaiting the reports from the forensic laboratory for leads. Meanwhile, a team of officials, which was formed to scan the CCTV footage and identify the people entering the building premises, have not made any breakthrough so far.