Elderly woman found murdered in Mumbai

A 78-year-old woman was found with her throat slit in her house at Matunga early on Monday morning.

The deceased, Manjula Vora, lived on the fifth floor of Pranav Residency with her elder brother, Ravilal (85), who allegedly suffers from a mental illness and is wheel chair bound. Police said Ravilal was in the next room when Ms Vora was murdered in her kitchen. The incident came to light when Ms Vora’s family doctor, Dilip Saha, responded to a call made by Ms Vora regarding Ravilal’s health.

Police officials said that Ms Vora called the doctor at around 4pm but he reached only by 7.40 pm. “Dr Saha informed us that he directly went up to Ms Vora’s house but nobody opened the door despite repeatedly ringing the doorbell. He then went to the lobby and asked security to check on the house. The security then called on the intercom which was surprisingly answered,” said an officer. He added that a man answered the call and identified himself as the newly appointed cook.

Soon after the call was answered, Dr Saha went back to Ms Vora’s apartment and claimed to have seen a man standing at the door. “Dr Saha told us the man seemed in a hurry. When Dr Saha tried asking him who he was, he rushed out saying that he was getting late for another cooking job. The man told Dr Saha that he had finished cooking for the Voras and was leaving, and added that Ms Vora was in the bathroom.”

When Dr Saha entered the house, he saw Ravilal sitting at the dining table. “When Dr Saha asked Ravilal, he was told Ms Vora was making laddoos in the kitchen. When Dr Saha went to the kitchen, he saw Ms Vora with her throat slit, lying in a pool of blood,” the officer said. A shocked Dr Saha informed Matunga police who registered a case of murder against an unidentified person.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that murder could have been the motive behind the crime. CCTV footage shows a man fitting Dr Saha’s description entering the building unnoticed with his face covered by a cap, a white bag in his hand. One of the two building watchmen have told police that Ms Vora met a middle aged man outside the building on Saturday, who allegedly introduced himself as a cook and Ms Vora hired him since she did not have one for the last four months.