Two unidentified men, including one clad in a burqa, murdered a 55-year-old woman who was alone at her second-floor home in Royapettah around noon on Tuesday. The duo stole 60 sovereigns of jewellery and close to Rs. 3 lakh. Police have obtained CCTV footage in which the suspects are clearly visible.
The murder took place at a building on Devarajan Street, which houses many printing units and shops. The body of the victim Mehrunnisa, a retired RBI employee, was found in her bedroom by her husband Ali Ahmed Syed, around 2.15 p.m. She had been gagged and her hands and legs were tied-up with cloth. Syed runs a printing press in Border Thottam, Zam Bazaar police said.
The couple had rented out the ground floor and first floor of their house to a printing press owned and managed by one Sivakumar.
“A CCTV camera on the first floor recorded two persons, one clad in a blue shirt and the other clad in a burqa, but suspected to be a man, coming to the building around 11.30 a.m. One of the suspects claimed to know Mehrunnisa’s son Junaid, who is working in the UAE,” said an investigating officer.
Police suspect the duo strangulated her.
An officer said the two suspects had come to a bakery next to Mehrunnisa’s house last Sunday on the pretext of buying sweets to conduct a recce.
A CCTV camera at the bakery recorded the men. Four special teams are combing CCTV footage and are in process of determining the identity of the suspects.
