Robbers target elderly city couple, 88-yr-old murdered

nNEWDELHI: An 88-year-old woman was stabbed to death at her house in south Delhi’s Safdarjung Enclave on Saturday evening during a robbery attempted by a security guard she had hired about a fortnight ago.

The woman’s husband, 94, a retired officer from the Ministry of External Affairs was also attacked by the guard and his two associates who made away with valuables and cash from the house.

By Sunday afternoon, a police team arrested the trio and a fourth associate from Gauriphanta in Uttar Pradesh near the Indo-nepal border while they were on their way to Nepal.

About ~55,000 in cash, jewellery and the knife used to commit the crime have been recovered, Delhi Police said in a statement on Sunday

The four accused have been identified as Rajesh (19), Gyanender (23), Om Singh (18) and Pramod Pragya (26), all hailing from Nepal.

“The CCTV camera footage from the area established that Om and Gyanender, led by Rajesh, entered the upper ground floor of the four-storey residential building roughly around 8.25pm. As they rang the bell, Kanta Chawla opened the door. As soon as she let Rajesh into the living room, the other two men followed and the three overpowered the couple,” an investigating officer who wished to remain anonymous said.

The officer said that when the trio headed for the wardrobe in the bedroom, Kanta Chawla objected and tried to raise an alarm. “This triggered a scuffle and the three men stabbed the elderly woman in the throat. She died on the spot.

The men picked up all the cash and valuables and fled the house,” the officer said.

He added that the husband alerted the neighbours, who then informed the police.