JOIN USTwo men of an interstate gang have been arrested for allegedly killing an elderly woman after robbing her at her house in Greater Kailash-II in 2008. The person who received the stolen goods has also been arrested, police said on Saturday.
Hanslata Maheshwari, 75, was battered to death on June 1, 2008. Her son Sudhir had told police that he, his wife and daughter lived on the first floor of the house in GK-II Block E, while Hanslata lived alone on the ground floor.
They had gone to watch a final match of the Indian Premier League at a club in Kalkaji when the incident happened.
“Sudhir had locked the main wooden gate of the house and Hanslata was alone at home. When he returned around 10.15 pm, the main gate was found opened and its handle broken,” said Chhaya Sharma, deputy commissioner of police (south).
He found Hanslata’s bedroom ransacked and bloodstains on the floor. “Sudhir followed the bloodstains to bathroom, where his mother was lying with her hands and legs tied and blood was oozing from her forehead,” Sharma added. Hanslata was rushed to a hospital, where she was declared brought dead.
On Sudhir’s statement, a case of murder and house trespass was lodged with Chittaranjan Park police station.
After four years, police have arrested Bijender, 25, and Birpal, 35, both resident of Sambhal in UP. They were held for alleged involvement in several cases of burglary in Delhi and NCR.
“However, during interrogation, they confessed to have killed Hanslata,” Sharma said.
Bijender, Birpal and one of their accomplices, Roshan, lived in rented accommodation in Munirka village. On June 1, they were roaming on two cycles in GK-ll to select a target to rob.
Around 9 pm, they noticed that the main gate of a house was locked and lights were switched off. They chose the house to rob, but initially did not enter as there was a security guard at a nearby house.
“They returned to the spot after an hour and broke the main gate’s lock, but to their surprise Hanslata was in the house,” Sharma said.
When Hanslata resisted, they tied her hands and legs, and battered her to death. They later shifted her to a bathroom and decamped with cash, jewellery and other valuables worth lakhs of rupees.
“They returned to Munirka village, but fled to their village after the murder was highlighted in the media,” Sharma added.
The accused also told police that Roshan died last year. The stolen items were disposed of through receivers Shripal and Vineet, which led to the arrest of Shripal. Police are now hunting for Vineet.