Santacruz woman’s killer held, was her househelp in the past

Mumbai: The 19-year-old arrested for killing and robbing the Santacruz senior citizen in her flat last week had worked as her househelp for around five months. He quit earlier this year. Thereafter, he worked as a delivery boy and cleaner at three restaurants in the locality.
The accused, Praveensingh Rawat, allegedly hatched and carried out the plan to kill Chanda Raheja (72) and earn fast money, just four days after he lost his latest job with an eatery.His aide who helped carry out the plan is on the run. Rawat was held on Sunday night, produced before court on Monday, and remanded to police custody till July 12. Indian Penal Code sections applied in the case include 302 for murder and 392 for robbery.
In the aftermath of the crime, city restaurateurs have begun to ask their staffers for their Aadhaar cards and election IDs, and not just their biodata and photographs. Adarsh Shetty, president of Ahar, an association of over 8,000 city restaurants, said they already insist on biodata and proper addresses of all their employees during recruitment.
Mumbai police spokesperson DCP Dhananjay Kulkarni told TOI that registration of domestic help and security guards is mandatory—though, so far, restaurant owners have not got any official order to the effect. “It will be good if hotel owners keep the records. These will help us in an emergency,” said Kulkarni.
Some of Rawat’s former colleagues at a restaurant identified him in a CCTV grab of Shalimar society on S V Road, where the wheelchair-bound victim lived. “Rawat left her job four months ago and was aware of her physical problems,” said Satyanarayan Choudhary, DCP (Zone IX). Rawat, a school dropout, is a resident of Dodital district in Uttarakhand. He used to live in the restaurants where he worked.
On July 1, around 8.30pm, Rawat and his aide went to Raheja’s flat; they lied to the new watchman that they worked there. Police are investigating why the security agency frequently changed guards at the society.
An officer said that Rawat confessed to the crime. “He strangulated her and pressed her head to the ground. This led to internal injuries. The duo looked for valuables but failed to break open the old cupboard. They fled with just Rs 5,000. Rawat was found in Marine Lines.”