Bengaluru, Feb 19 (IANS) A 60-year-old woman was allegedly murdered for her gold jewellery by a man who entered her house on the pretext of asking for water in Nelamangala, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, police said on Thursday.

The crime was committed in the presence of her paralysed husband, who was bedridden. Police arrested the accused within hours of the incident.

The incident occurred on Pete Street on Wednesday night and came to light when a doctor visited the residence later as part of a routine medical visit.

The deceased was identified as Shobha, who lived with her husband in Nelamangala.

The couple had no children. Her husband had suffered a brain stroke 12 years ago and had remained bedridden since then. Shobha was the sole caregiver and was known to maintain cordial relations with neighbours.

According to police, the couple was financially well-off, and a doctor regularly visited their home to provide physiotherapy to her husband. The crime was discovered during one such scheduled visit.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the accused had noticed Shobha wearing gold jewellery while she was returning home earlier in the day.

Police said the accused allegedly observed that she was wearing gold ornaments weighing more than 100 grams and followed her to her residence.

Near her house, the accused allegedly approached her under the pretext of asking for water. When Shobha went inside to fetch water, he allegedly followed her into the house and slit her throat using a knife he was carrying, before fleeing the scene with her gold jewellery.

Nelamangala Town Police rushed to the spot after receiving information, conducted an inspection, and registered a murder and robbery case.

The accused, identified as Shivakumar (35), a wholesale shop owner, was arrested shortly thereafter.

Police said preliminary investigations indicated that Shivakumar was allegedly under financial distress and had targeted the elderly woman in an attempt to repay a debt of Rs 8 lakh.

After committing the crime, he reportedly returned home on his scooter in an attempt to avoid suspicion.

However, investigators traced the registration number of the scooter used in the crime and apprehended the accused. Police also recovered the scooter, the knife allegedly used in the murder, and mobile phones linked to the accused.

Police said the victim was found lying beside her bedridden husband with fatal injuries. Her husband, due to his medical condition, was reportedly unable to respond or raise an alarm.

Further investigation is underway to ascertain additional details related to the crime.

–IANS

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