A senior citizen and her 40-year-old daughter were allegedly murdered on Thursday night in their bungalow at Madh village in Malad in a suspected robbery bid,the police said. The victims,Antonita Melcose (65) and her daughter Betty Varghese,had suffered severe head injuries after they were assaulted with a metal rod that was found nearby,said Malwani police which is investigating the murders. Antonita and Betty were rushed to the Bhagwati Hospital in Borivali where Antonita was declared dead on arrival,while Betty succumbed to her injuries while undergoing treatment, said a police officer. The police have registered a case of murder. They said the motive behind the killings seemed to be robbery so far,but they have not been able to determine the amount of the loot. They are also trying to trace two servants of the victims who have gone missing since the incident. Antonita and Betty had been staying in their Rosy Villa bungalow at Masterwadi in Madh village,while Bettys husband Oman resides in Pune as his two daughters are studying in a school there. Oman shuttles between Pune and Mumbai as and when he gets time to visit his wife, DCP (Zone 11) Sanjay Bannerjee said. According to the police,the incident happened around 10:30 pm on Thursday. One Mohan Goswami,a businessman and the victims neighbours,heard some screams while walking past their house. Suspecting foul play,he called up Oman in Pune and told him about the noises coming from their house. Oman then asked Goswami to immediately contact the police. However,by the time we reached the bungalow with Goswami,the culprit had fled and we discovered the two women lying in a pool of blood, said the police officer. The two servants had been working for Melcose for the past few weeks but have not been found at the house after the incident. We are conducting enquiries to trace both of them. Meanwhile,we have rounded up a few suspects and have detained them for questioning, Bannerjee said.
