A woman staying alone at her house in Mahadevapura was strangled with her sari by assailants who escaped with her gold jewellery and valuables, on Tuesday.
Kondamma V.M.K. (63), was a resident of Gurumurthy Reddy Layout, PWD Road, B. Narayanapura.
The incident came to light at night when Kondamma’s daughter Kavita called her mother but found that her cellphone was not reachable. Kavita then called a relative who is staying a few houses away from Kondamma’s to go and check. The relatives found the door locked from inside. Kavita then called her elder brother, Srinivas V.M., whose office is close to his mother’s house. Srinivas opened the door with a spare key, only to find Kondamma’s body below the cot.
Initially, the family members thought Kondamma had lost balance and fallen from her bed. But they lifted her to find the sari rolled to her neck and her two gold chains, two pairs of gold bangles and a pair of earrings missing.
The family members also noticed that the house had been ransacked and informed the police.
According to the Mahadevapura police, gold jewellery weighing around 120 gm was missing, along with cash and a mobile phone.
Enquiries revealed that the victim had been living alone since the death of her husband three years ago. The police suspect that the assailants observed Kondamma living alone and struck after watching her movements for some time. “There was no forced entry, which indicates that the assailants are known to her or they might have sneaked in on the pretext of seeking something from her,” a police officer said.