Missing woman found strangled, tied up and gagged in neighbour's cupboard

An 80-year-old woman, who had been missing since Friday evening, was found murdered on Sunday in a cupboard in the same building where her son lives. She had been tied up and gagged.

Police believe that she was murdered because she had gold jewellery worth 3.5 lakh on her person. They are searching for a woman who lived in the house where the body was found.

Parvathamma, from a village near Sira, Tumakuru district, came to the city last week to live with her son Ramesh. Ramesh, a manager at a garment factory, lives with his wife Jyothi and children in Neraluru village, near Attibele, South Bengaluru.

Parvathamma was found missing at 6.30 pm by Jyothi when she returned home after dropping off her children at a tuition class. Ramesh was at work at the time.

The family searched for Parvathamma before contacting the police on Saturday.

Police investigations soon found a clue.

Paval Khan, 25, a garment worker who lives on the third floor of the building, was also reported missing on Friday night.

Police found it unusual because Paval had joined Ramesh and other neighbours in searching for Parvathamma. Paval's door was locked from the outside and her phone was switched off.

Police contacted the landlord and got him to open Paval’s house with a spare key. The search turned up a huge shock: Parvathamma's body was found in a cupboard.

Ramesh recalled that Paval had invited Parvathamma over. Police also learnt that Parvathamma wore a gold chain, a nose ring and earrings, together worth about Rs 3.5 lakh. The valuables were missing.

Police believe that Paval tied up and gagged Parvathamma before strangling her and fleeing with the jewellery.