48-year-old woman murdered, gold stolen in Chennai

November 22, 2014 08:22 am | Updated April 09, 2016 11:07 am IST - CHENNAI:

A 48-year-old housewife was brutally murdered at her home in Kalathiappa Street, Choolai on Friday evening by robbers who took away gold jewellery weighing over one kg. The victim was alone at home after her daughter left to meet a friend. This is the fourth murder for gain in three days in the city.

The woman, identified as Manju Devi, lived in her first-floor-home along with her husband Hemraj Jain (54), son Ashish (25) and daughter Pooja (21). Jain runs an electrical equipment store in Sowcarpet along with Ashish.

Speaking to mediapersons at the spot, Manju Devi's relative Surendra Kumar said Pooja came home around 6.15 p.m. and found the house locked from outside.

“She called her father on his mobile phone and he rushed home. They opened the door with a spare key and found Manju Devi lying in a pool of blood near the kitchen. The house had been ransacked,” he added.

The robbers had emptied the safes and almirahs and taken away the gold and other valuables.

The brutal killing and robbery in a populous area in Choolai has shocked residents there.

Investigators have obtained CCTV footage from cameras at a primarily school and an apartment complex opposite the victim's house.

The footage reveals an unidentified man walking away from the building with a suitcase, police sources said. The family were the only residents of the two-storey house which they own and have been living in for over two decades.

Breakthrough

Meanwhile, police claimed to have made a breakthrough in two previous murders for gain, that of Hemavathi (49) in Kolathur on Thursday and Veliappan (87) in Choolaimedu on Tuesday.

While Hemavathi’s killer is suspected to be a close relative, the octogenarian was done to death by a gang of youth who killed him for the gold jewellery, sources said.

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