86-year-old murdered,house robbed

The almirahs were not forced open,police said,indicating the assailants knew where the valuables were kept.

Around 7.15 pm Sharma was talking on the phone with his daughter Poonam Mehta,who lives nearby in Rajendra Nagar area,when someone rang the doorbell.

“Sharma put the call on hold and went to open the door. The call later got disconnected and Mehta could not get through again,” said a senior police officer.

Mehta reached Sharma’s house around 7.45 pm to check on him. “She found the door locked and asked a carpenter working nearby to break the door open. Sharma was found lying on the bed in a pool of blood,” the officer added.

Sharma’s elder son Kamal Jetly and his wife Sabeena own an advertising agency,Vivid India,and were at their Rajendra Place office at the time of incident. His grandchildren had gone for tuition classes. His second son Colonel Sandeep Jetly,who is posted at the Rashtrapati Bhawan,lives in Vasant Vihar with his family.

Police said unlike other days Sabeena asked their domestic help to accompany the children for classes in Alaknanda,South Delhi. “The driver,who was hired recently,told us that he had never seen the domestic help accompanying the children to the tuition classes. The accused knew the time when Sharma would be alone,” said the officer.

Kamal Jetly said,“My father was aware about the threat that senior citizens face and he could not have opened the door to a stranger.”

A case of robbery and murder has been registered. “We have some clues in the case. Someone known to Sharma committed the crime,” said Vivek Kishore,DCP (Central).