Woman smothered

NEW DELHI, JUNE 17: In yet another incident involving an elderly person in the city, 62-year-old Harbhajan Kaur was found smothered last ...

NEW DELHI, JUNE 17: In yet another incident involving an elderly person in the city, 62-year-old Harbhajan Kaur was found smothered last night at her Mukherjee Nagar residence. The attackers took away property documents leading the police to firmly suspect that property was the murder motive.

Kaur was found gasping for air in the bathroom by her husband, Jaswant, when he returned from his cloth shop at 10:00 p.m. He took her to the Hindu Rao hospital where she was declared brought dead. As there were no other injury marks, the police have concluded she was smothered. A case of murder has been registered.

While family members allege that around two lakh rupees have been stolen, the police are yet to confirm the amount. Though cash was stolen, the police say it is clear money was not the motive for murder, as the Rs 25,000 kept in another safe was left untouched.

The police believe the assailant was somebody close to the family as they not only knew where the camouflaged safe was but also had a key to it. The husband is reportedly not aware of the presence of another key and he confirmed that no one knew about it. Also, there were no signs of resistance by the deceased. 8220;We are taking several things into consideration in our investigation including property and family. It does not appear to be a plain case of robbery or ransacking,8221; said the deputy commissioner of police, Satyendra Garg. According to the police, the assailants knew what they were looking for as they sifted through the papers and tore off whatever was not needed. The torn papers and a ransacked wardrobe were found on the scene. The couple was staying in Mukherjee Nagar, north-west Delhi, while their two married sons, lived apart. The body was sent for post-mortem and then cremated.