Dwaipayan Ghosh, TNN | Oct 3, 2012, 02.02AM IST
NEW DELHI: A 62-year-old school teacher, due to retire in November, was found strangled to death at her residence in north Delhi on Tuesday. The victim, Madhu Mehra, lived alone in a government accommodation in Timarpur, north Delhi, after her husband and son died in accidents several years ago.
Police said Mehra was found with her feet tied and mouth gagged. The killer appeared to have come in through the door and the house was ransacked but her jewellery was intact, officers said. Police are questioning a school lab assistant who was close to Mehra and had allegedly borrowed Rs 1 lakh from her.
The deceased taught science at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Nehru Vihar and lived alone at a government accommodation in Teachers Colony. Her husband and son had died in separate accidents several years ago. She had sought an extension two years ago and was due to retire on November 3.
"The killer had a friendly entry. Her legs were tied and mouth gagged. The cupboard near her bed was overturned and the bed box had been thoroughly searched. However, the jewellery and the electronic equipment were intact. We have recovered the woman's cellphone too,'' said a senior investigating officer.
"We have activated our eyes and ears network and are hoping for a breakthrough soon. We are investigating all possible angles, including personal enmity and robbery,'' said DCP (north) Sindhu Pillai.
A senior officer said that one Rajender Kumar (59), a school lab assistant, called up at 2.20pm on Tuesday to inform that the entrance door of the Mehra flat, where she had been living for the past 22 years, was open and that she was lying dead on her bedroom floor. Cops said she usually slept in the balcony.
Mehra was apparently close to Rajender whom she treated as her brother. "Rajender often visited her. He was here on Tuesday when he found out about the murder. We have been told that he had borrowed Rs 10,000 from her recently but was not finding it easy to return the money. We are investigating these claims,'' said an officer. Till reports last came in, Rajender was being questioned at the Timarpur police station.
Ashok Kumar Singh, a visually-impaired colleague of the deceased, told TOI that Mehra was extremely careful about her security although she had not registered with the senior citizen cell of Delhi Police. "She never opened her door to strangers and the nominee of her will himself does not know that he has been nominated by her," said Ashok.
Ashok said he was a neighbor of Madhu Mehra and they took the same rickshaw to school every day. "A rickshawpuller, Naresh Kumar, used to come every day to our flats and wait for us. She had been teaching in this school for the past 10 years, but we were commuting together for the past two years. However, Naresh's son-in-law fell sick in Patna and he left one week ago. Hence, we were travelling separately for the past one week,'' said Ashok.
Madhu Mehra had studied in Bangalore where her father was employed. Later she moved to Delhi. "She lost her husband in an accident when her son only was a few months old. Her son too died in an accident when he was around 15. Her parents came to stay with her, but after their death a couple of years ago, she was alone. She has a sister who stays elsewhere in Delhi,'' said an officer.
Ashok claimed that his son had spotted Madhu Mehra at the local market around 9.30pm on Monday. "She did not interact much with neighbours but was a favourite with her students,'' he said. Cops said the woman was close to another lady teacher who lived opposite her flat. "We found her house locked and are trying to find her for more information,'' said an officer.
Link: Elderly teacher killed at home in north Delhi
Police said Mehra was found with her feet tied and mouth gagged. The killer appeared to have come in through the door and the house was ransacked but her jewellery was intact, officers said. Police are questioning a school lab assistant who was close to Mehra and had allegedly borrowed Rs 1 lakh from her.
The deceased taught science at the Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Nehru Vihar and lived alone at a government accommodation in Teachers Colony. Her husband and son had died in separate accidents several years ago. She had sought an extension two years ago and was due to retire on November 3.
"The killer had a friendly entry. Her legs were tied and mouth gagged. The cupboard near her bed was overturned and the bed box had been thoroughly searched. However, the jewellery and the electronic equipment were intact. We have recovered the woman's cellphone too,'' said a senior investigating officer.
"We have activated our eyes and ears network and are hoping for a breakthrough soon. We are investigating all possible angles, including personal enmity and robbery,'' said DCP (north) Sindhu Pillai.
A senior officer said that one Rajender Kumar (59), a school lab assistant, called up at 2.20pm on Tuesday to inform that the entrance door of the Mehra flat, where she had been living for the past 22 years, was open and that she was lying dead on her bedroom floor. Cops said she usually slept in the balcony.
Mehra was apparently close to Rajender whom she treated as her brother. "Rajender often visited her. He was here on Tuesday when he found out about the murder. We have been told that he had borrowed Rs 10,000 from her recently but was not finding it easy to return the money. We are investigating these claims,'' said an officer. Till reports last came in, Rajender was being questioned at the Timarpur police station.
Ashok Kumar Singh, a visually-impaired colleague of the deceased, told TOI that Mehra was extremely careful about her security although she had not registered with the senior citizen cell of Delhi Police. "She never opened her door to strangers and the nominee of her will himself does not know that he has been nominated by her," said Ashok.
Ashok said he was a neighbor of Madhu Mehra and they took the same rickshaw to school every day. "A rickshawpuller, Naresh Kumar, used to come every day to our flats and wait for us. She had been teaching in this school for the past 10 years, but we were commuting together for the past two years. However, Naresh's son-in-law fell sick in Patna and he left one week ago. Hence, we were travelling separately for the past one week,'' said Ashok.
Madhu Mehra had studied in Bangalore where her father was employed. Later she moved to Delhi. "She lost her husband in an accident when her son only was a few months old. Her son too died in an accident when he was around 15. Her parents came to stay with her, but after their death a couple of years ago, she was alone. She has a sister who stays elsewhere in Delhi,'' said an officer.
Ashok claimed that his son had spotted Madhu Mehra at the local market around 9.30pm on Monday. "She did not interact much with neighbours but was a favourite with her students,'' he said. Cops said the woman was close to another lady teacher who lived opposite her flat. "We found her house locked and are trying to find her for more information,'' said an officer.
Link: Elderly teacher killed at home in north Delhi
No comments:
Post a Comment