Elderly woman murdered, husband clobbered

In a chilling reminder of the attacks in National Capital, a 72-year-old woman was strangulated to death by unidentified assailants who also bludgeoned her husband to coma here late on Thursday.

The incident occurred at L3-134 in Acharya Vihar, a major residential area of the City. The killers went into the second floor house of Kunja Bihari Panigrahy (75) and his wife Jyotsna Devi, attacked the couple and escaped without raising any suspicion. The couple was staying alone.

The three-storey building, owned by Panigrahys, also houses at least 96 students who are rented out rooms by the couple. Not one present on the premises could give police any clue about what exactly had happened. The incident is believed to have occurred between 11 pm and 5 am.

It was the maid servant of the couple Bhanumati who first saw Jyotsna Devi lying in a room connecting bedroom and kitchen while her husband was in a pool of blood. She had apparently been strangulated with a cable while Kunja Bihari had suffered head injuries after being hit with a heavy object.  The chest in their bedroom was prised  open but police are trying to ascertain if burglary was the reason. The mobile phone of Kunja Bihari is missing.

It was at about 5 am that Bhanumati came in and found that the grill was ajar but the door to bedroom was closed. She called the couple a few times and received no answer. After cleaning the room, she went away thinking the Panigrahys must be at the temple but when she did not find them there, Bhanumati returned at about 10 am and went inside to discover the terrible scene.

When police came in after being intimated by one of the boarders, an ambulance had also been called in. Kunja Bihari was shifted to Ayush Hospital where his condition remains critical.

While the incident sent shock waves in the City raising serious questions about safety and security of senior citizens, police suspect the role of an acquaintance in the murder. “There is no sign of any forceful entry into their house. There is no sign of struggle. We are also trying to locate the mobile phone,” Police Commissioner Sunil Roy said.

Police are trying to gather evidence from the boarders most of whom are college students. All the 96 boarders will be quizzed and it is being examined if anyone has gone missing since the incident. Scientific teams have also been pressed into service. No one has been arrested yet.