Neighbours shaken by senior citizen's murder

A day after an elderly woman was murdered in Lajpat Nagar, residents said they are worried about the poor security in the locality.

Vimla Ahuja (63), was found dead on the first floor of her family’s multi-storey building in Lajpat Nagar on late on Sunday afternoon.

Residents say a daylight robbery like the one on Sunday was just waiting to happen.
“Minor thefts and petty crimes are too common here,” said J S Suri, a neighbour of the victim and member of the residents’ welfare association (RWA).

He said nearly every day there is a police complaint filed for a minor theft like that of gas cylinders and car batteries, or of snatching of purses and jewellery.

“There is only one security guard for the entire colony (H block, Lajpat Nagar-1). There are eight gates here and we can afford to provide a guard for only one of them,” Suri said.

He said there is never any verification of tenants done by police in this area.  
Anil Kumar, another resident, said none of the residents are interested in the RWA. People who can afford to have a security guard deploy one at their gate.

“If no one pays money how can we arrange security,” said Kumar.

Seema Chhabra, who lives close by was also shaken by the murder. She said that she stays at home to take care of her elderly mother-in-law.

Suri said that there are 138 families in the locality and each family has at least one elderly person living with them.

He said on Tuesday the RWA will hold a meeting where they will discuss the locality’s security.

Local residents remember Ahuja as a friendly and helpful woman. She did not interact much with the neighbours and was used to living independently. She ventured out only go to the temple or to her relatives’ homes. 

People who came at the funeral remembered her as a “sweet lady”.

Shiv Kumar Handa, a family friend, said she kept him under her guidance when he was preparing for his chartered accountancy exams and kept in touch even after.

“She would not let anyone leave the house without giving them a glass of water or something to eat,” said Handa.

The CCTV footage collected by police was from a private security device installed at a new office building in the same lane.