Mumbai: Caretaker arrested for ‘robbing, attempting to kill’ 81-year-old woman in Juhu

Representational Image

After a murder incident involving a senior citizen named Jyoti Shah in Malabar Hill, a similar incident occurred in Juhu, where a caretaker attempted to kill an 81-year-old woman and robbed her at her residence. The Juhu police tracked down the accused in the Kamathipura area. The senior citizen was injured seriously.

The victim, Kunjbala Ashok Mehta (81), is a resident of Juhu. The caretaker has been identified as Ankit Patil, a resident of Badlapur who previously worked as a waiter in a restaurant. Police stated that the accused strangled Mehta and fled with her gold ornaments worth Rs 1.25 lakh.

According to police officials, the incident took place on March 14 at 12:30 pm while the victim, Kunjbala Mehta, was sleeping in her room and the caretaker, Patil, was at home. The caretaker strangled the woman and also hit her head against the wall.

A police officer said, "The accused, Patil, seriously injured the woman and robbed her. He took a 10-gram gold chain worth Rs 50,000 and 15-gram gold bangles worth Rs 75,000, totalling Rs 1.25 lakh in valuables. After the robbery, the accused switched off both his mobile phones."

Under the guidance of DCP Rajtilak Roshan, ACP Mahesh Mugutrao, Senior PI Sunil Jadhav, and PI Pramod Kamble, a team of officers including PI Tanaji Khade, API Ranjeet Chavan, API Ganesh Jain, PSI Todankar, and constables Gajanan Patil, Ghadigaonkar, Siddhappa Tokre, Mahagade, Khomne, Nitin Mandekar, Malkappa Kanmise, Tushar Panhale, Anil Tawde, Tasgaonkar, and Bodke was formed to track down the accused.

During the investigation, the police checked CCTV footage from Juhu, Bandra, and several other places, leading to the tracing of the accused, Patil, at the New Metro Guest House in the Kamathipura area. The accused was arrested, and the police are in the process of recovering the stolen jewellery.