22 March,2017 08:57 AM IST | | Faisal Tandel
A 51-year-old woman from Kongaon in Bhiwandi was strangled to death by unidentified robbers who fled with gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 12.91 lakh
Representational Pic
A 51-year-old woman from Kongaon in Bhiwandi was strangled to death by unidentified robbers who fled with gold ornaments and cash worth Rs 12.91 lakh. The elderly woman was alone when the incident took place.
The incident took place on March 20 between 12:30 pm and 5:45 pm. The victim, Usha Mhatre, lived at Durga Apartment, Gaodevi pada, with her son Pravin Ananta Mhatre (30) and his wife and kids. "On Monday afternoon, Pravin Mhatre went to Iyergaon in Dombivli to drop his wife and son at his mother-in-law's house. When he returned home, he found his mother dead. She had been strangled to death and the family jewellery was missing from the wooden cupboard," said an officer from Kongaon police station.
The stolen valuables include 30 tola gold worth Rs 8.4 lakh, a 4-tola chain worth Rs 1.12 lakh, 1 tola ring worth Rs 28,000, Rs 3 lakh in cash. The thieves even stole the DVR of the CCTV footage from the crime scene, costing another Rs 10,000 and leaving the police with next to no clues on the crime. Cops suspect that an insider might be involved in the break-in as they knew about the CCTV cameras.
A case has been registered at Kongaon police station under Sections 302 (murder), 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) and 452 (house-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) of the Indian Penal Code.
"We have registered a murder and house-breaking case and are investigating the matter. There was no watchman in the building. The complainant had installed CCTV cameras inside his residence and in the building, but the accused fled with the footage, leaving no clues. We suspect that someone known to the family might have committed the crime," said Senior Police Inspector Mangesh Sawant, Kongaon police station.
