Elderly Woman Killed by Caretaker During Robbery at West Delhi Flat

A 75-year-old woman was strangled to death allegedly by her caretaker and his two associates during a robbery at her flat in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, police said on Sunday. The recently-hired caretaker, Monu (22), hatched a conspiracy along with his associates Vishal (22) and Naveen (31) to rob the the woman and her husband as they were an "easy target," they said.

All three of them have been arrested from Burari in North Delhi in connection with the murder-cum-robbery incident that took place on May 31, police said. The deceased woman, Savitri Sharma, and her husband Jaipal, who is a chronic cancer patient, also suffered from mental health problems, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Urvija Goel said, "We received information on June 1 that Savitri Sharma was admitted to Orchid Hospital in an unconscious state. She was declared unfit for statement by the attending doctor. But prima facie, the matter seemed to be of attempt to murder as strangulation marks were found on her neck. Hence, a case was registered accordingly but she later succumbed to her injuries during the course of her treatment." The caretaker was interrogated and suspicion grew stronger on him as he kept changing his statements, the DCP said. With the help of technical surveillance, it was confirmed that on the day of incident, Monu had come along with some other unidentified people and they left from there in a hurry after sometime, she said. When Monu was confronted, he confessed to his involvement in the offence along with his associates Naveen and Vishal, police said.

On May 31, Monu and Vishal went inside the elderly couple's flat while Naveen stayed back at some distance outside to keep an eye on possible threats to them, Goel said. After entering the flat, Monu and Vishal assaulted the woman and asked her about the cash and valuables. When she refused, both of them strangled her and fled with cash and jewellery, she said.

The police have recovered from the accused a pair of earrings, Rs 2,000 cash and the motorcycle used in the offence.

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