A 32-year-old carpenter has been arrested for the murder of a 70-year-old widow in Preet Vihar. The woman was found murdered and her jewellery stolen at her house in East Delhi on Sunday afternoon.
The accused Haider was identified by some locals as a carpenter working in the area after the police scanned the CCTV camera footage and found him leaving the victim’s home on Saturday night.
The police raided Haider’s home in Mandawali but he had fled. He was arrested from Madanpur Khadar area on Monday and a hammer used for striking the victim was recovered at his instance.
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The police said the accused had reached victim Suman Bala Bhatnagar’s house during his regular visits there for helping her with petty household works.
The police had received a call from Bhatnagar’s tenant at 3-25 p.m. on Sunday when she came down to request the woman to switch on the water motor.
“The murderer had gained a friendly entry to the house as was evident from a half empty cup of tea lying on a table. Finally, the CCTV footage of the locality confirmed that she was murdered on Saturday night itself,” said a senior police officer.
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The police said Haider was facing financial hardships due to his drinking habits and had planned the robbery after realising that Bhatnagar, a retired employee with Ministry of External Affairs, stayed alone.