SR CITIZEN KILLED IN VIRAR WAS KIN OF NOTED SCHOLAR

The senior citizen, Kirtinidhi Sharma, who was murdered by a widow to rob her of jewellery and gadgets was the grand daughter-in-law of a literary scholar Pandit Chandradhar Sharma Guleri of Himachal Pradesh. Her body was found in an elite housing society of Virar (west). The Arnala coastal police arrested the accused Pushpa Vasandani (47), who lived with her two sons in Global City, Virar.

The 67-year-old Sharma, a retired state government teacher in Himachal Pradesh, had moved to Virar from Kandivali’s Charkop just a month ago and had been residing in a rented accommodation with her son, daughter-in-law and a grand child. Post retirement, Sharma started to work as an insurance agent after shifting her base to Mumbai.

“My mother received call on her cell phone on Sunday morning and left home after that. She had told us she will return home soon. But she did not return home by late evening. We searched her in nearby areas till late evening. Her both the cellphones were switched off. Finally I registered a missing complaint at Arnala coastal police station on Monday,” said her son Vikas Sharma Guleri, who is a civil engineer at Malabar Hill.

While searching for his mother, Vikas was told that she had gone to meet one lady whom she met in a beauty parlour few days ago. “I was told that my mother exchanged her visiting card with one lady who lives in H-Avenue of Global City. I went to her flat, knocked the door but no one opened the door. After 30 minutes, I again visited her flat and this time I saw the door was locked from outside,” added Vikas.

An officer from Arnala coastal police said there was injury marks of Kirtinidhi Sharma’s head and nose. “Vasandani was trying to dispose of the body but she could not succeed. She got scared after she learnt that Sharma’s missing complaint has been registered. So she told her neighbour that a body is lying in the dry space area of her flat.

Her neighbour just informed police on the control room. Soon a team reached the spot. Later, the body was identified as Kirtinidhi Sharma, whose missing complaint was registered,” said Palghar police PRO Hemant Katkar.

Vasandani was taken into custody and was produced a court that has sent her into police custody for five days.