Elderly couple found murdered

Close on the heels of the double murder of a hotelier and his wife in Cottonpet, an elderly couple was found murdered at their house near the Oxford group of institutions in J P Nagar 1st Phase on Friday morning.

The couple was smothered to death by assailants, who escaped with valuables.

The victims, Venkateshaiah (75) a retired clerk of the Education Department, and his wife Swarnamba (68) hail from Anekal and were staying in J P Nagar for the past 34 years.

They did not have children.

The incident, which took place on Monday, came to light when their maid Deepa came for work on Friday. She grew suspicious as there was a foul smell emanating from inside. Deepa informed Lalitha, Swarnamba’s sister, over phone.

Lalitha and her family members rushed over and broke open the main door to find the bodies in a decomposed state. Sonia Narang, DCP (South), said, “This is a case of murder for gain. The killers had bolted the main door from inside and escaped through the back door,” she explained.

“The couple had asked some labourers to repair the water sump on Monday and after that the couple was not seen. We suspect the labourers and are on the lookout for them,” she said.

Police also said the couple had hired two maids who had worked on Monday. They came on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday too, but as there was no response they assumed the couple had gone to a relative’s house.