Mumbai caretaker held for ‘robbing, attempting to kill’ elderly woman

According to police officials, the woman, identified as Kunjbala Ashok Mehta, lived with her husband in an apartment in Juhu.

“In order to take care of their daily routines and assistance to move about, the couple hired a caretaker for themselves. He had started coming to their house on Thursday,” said an officer.

The caretaker, identified as Ankit Patil, hails from Jalgaon and resided in Badlapur.

Around 12.30pm on Thursday, while Mehta was busy with her household chores, the accused allegedly entered the bedroom and attacked her.

“She was in the bathroom and as soon as she stepped out, their caretaker tried to strangle her and pushed her against the wall,” an investigator said.

The accused then snatched her gold chain and bangles and escaped from the spot. In a state of shock, the woman then contacted her relatives and informed them about the incident.

The matter was then reported to the police station and a case was registered under section 397 (robbery or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code.

In their hunt for the accused, police officials started to scrutinise CCTV footage when they spotted him escaping from the spot.

“We followed him through the CCTV cameras installed on roads and other establishments. He had taken a train from Santacruz and traveled from Bandra till Mumbai Central,” an officer said.

Later with the help of other technical devices and informers, the investigators learnt he had been staying in a guest house in south Mumbai. Searches were conducted in lodges at Kamathipura, Grand Road, DB Marg and Azad Maidan area and was found in New Metro Guest House at Dhobi Talao.

The accused was then brought to Juhu police station, who during the course of interrogation confessed to the crime.

“He alleges that he committed the crime with an intention to rob the octogenarian. He had escaped with valuables worth Rs 1.25 lakh,” an officer said.

The police further added they were in the process of determining if he had a prior crime record.

On March 13, a 19-year-old house help Kanhaiya Kumar Sanjay Pandit was arrested by Malabar Hill police for allegedly murdering a 63-year-old and stealing gold ornaments worth Rs 3 lakh.