: A 31-year-old shopkeeper has been arrested in connection with the murder of an elderly woman in a group housing society in upscale Sector 55 here over a week ago.
Jayarani, 65, was found lying in a pool of blood in her bedroom around 1-30 p.m. on September 14 when her four-year-old granddaughter had returned home. The girl was accompanied by a woman neighbour, who raised an alarm.
The accused, Karan, who runs a Patanjali products shop in Sun City along with his father, was facing financial crunch. Karan earlier worked as arthi (commission agent in agriculture sector) in Kaithal, and had incurred heavy losses. He then shifted to Brothers Apartments in Gurgaon with his family. He was under tremendous pressure to cover his losses, and found Jayarani a soft target, the police said.
On the fateful day, Karan entered the woman’s flat on the pretext of seeking pliers a few hours after her son, Kajal, daughter-in-law Monika and grand-daughter left in the morning. He then attacked the woman with the same pliers and strangled her to death, the police said.
Jewellery mortgaged
He also mortgaged a few jewellery items of the woman at Muthoot Finance in Kaithal in return for Rs.14,000. He, however, continued to visit the aggrieved family and express sympathy to avoid suspicion.
However, the technical surveillance mounted in this regard and the questioning of the security guards of the society pointed the needle of suspicion at him. He was called for investigation on Wednesday, and arrested. He initially tried to mislead the police, but spilled the beans on sustained interrogation.
Karan’s family was not aware of his involvement in the murder, the police said.
