'Why didn't she just ask mom for money?'

"But why will Laxmi aunty kill our mother? They lunched together often and were best of friends for over a decade," said a distraught Manisha, 32, daughter of deceased Latika Kamble on learning about the arrest of their neighbour Laximbai Dangle for the murder.

"But why will Laxmi aunty kill our mother? They lunched together often and were best of friends for over a decade," said a distraught Manisha, 32, daughter of deceased Latika Kamble on learning about the arrest of their neighbour Laximbai Dangle for the murder.

HT Image

When the police told them money was the motive, Manisha told HT, "Whenever Laxmi aunty needed money, my mother would lend it to her without hesitation. She would return it on time and hence financial transactions were never a problem. She could have just asked my mother for money."

However, Manisha did admit that on September 11, when Dangle had asked Kamble for Rs50, the latter had refused on the grounds that she did not have any. While sources in the Vikhroli police say that the incident had angered Dangle, Manisha maintains it did not create any acrimony.

"It was not a big thing and both met the next day as well," she said.

According to Manisha, since Kamble was alone at home after she, her brother and cousin left for work every morning, and Dangle's nephew too left for work, the two often gave each other company throughout the day.

"On many occasions, Laxmi aunty would come to our house in the afternoons and the two would have lunch together and watch TV programmes," Kamble's son Manoj, 28, said.