It had only been a year since Pauline Crowther, an 85-year-old United Kingdom citizen, had shifted to White House, 7, Jantar Mantar Road — where the headquarters of Indian National Congress was once located — when she was found dead at her home in July. Crowther was living with her son Daljeet and his wife in one of the 30 units — behind the Janata Dal United office — on the sprawling premises. A nerve centre of political activities in the 1960s, 70s and early 80s, frequented by former PM Jawaharlal Nehru, this is where the INC had shifted its base after relocating from Allahabad (now known as Prayagraj) following Independence. In 1969, during the split of the INC, owing to a power tussle between Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi, it became the headquarter of the Desai-led faction, and remained so till 1977. In 1977, Janata Dal allied with Desai's Congress (O). Subsequently, the White House became the headquarters of Janata Dal. Crowther got married to Mahendra Singh, who was from a family of landlords, in the 1950s, in the UK. The couple before their divorce had two children — Daljeet, and his sister, who is currently in the United States. Mahendra Singh has died and he was never acknowledged as the 'former' owner of the unit where Crowther and his son were living. However, according to a police officer, he was allocated the house in the 1960s due to his family's affiliation with the Congress. Since then, the property has remained with the family. Daljeet, an event manager by profession, shifted with his wife in the unit a few years ago, the police officer said. Last year, he brought his mother to live with them. On July 30, Crowther was found dead on the floor of one of the quarters of the white mansion. “Blood was seen near the woman’s body, found lying near the foot of a bed,” the officer added. Prima facie, it seemed that the elderly woman fell off her bed, injured herself and died of injuries, according to police. “No case was registered at that time and her body was sent for post-mortem,” a senior police officer said. However, last month, the post-mortem report of the woman was released, which raised doubts about the cause of death — it was not a natural death, according to the autopsy report. Doctors claimed that she had head injuries. Also, according to officers, some of the facts of the case were found ‘inconclusive’ in the post-mortem report. Based on the findings, the police registered a case of murder at the Connaught Place police station. No motive for the alleged murder has come to light so far, according to officers privy to the details of the probe. “We have questioned the helps, and neighbours. Her relationship with everyone was cordial. She did not have any significant property in her name, so that motive can be ruled out. No signs of robbery were found from the crime scene," the officer said. The officer added that the police are now awaiting the results of some forensic reports, and an analysis of call detail records (CDR) is still going on. “Her daughter is also coming back from the United States and more details will come to the fore then,” the police officer underlined.
