Date:22/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/22/stories/2006092224710300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Woman murdered at home near Hulimavu

Staff Reporter

The killers took away gold jewellery after the murder

This is the third case in seven days of a lonely elderly woman being murdered for gain
The victim was an assistant manager with a private iron and steel company

The regular autorickshaw driver did not turn up to take her home on Wednesday

BANGALORE: In the third incident in the last seven days, an elderly woman was murdered at her secluded house in MICO Layout police station limits. The killers made away with her gold jewellery.

The murder, which is suspected to have taken place on Wednesday night, came to light around 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, the police said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (South-East) Soumendu Mukherjee said the killers had smothered Sudha Sampath (57) with a pillow and relieved her of a gold chain, a pair of gold bangles, earrings and rings she was wearing. Although the house was ransacked, the electronic goods and other household articles were intact, Mr. Mukherjee said.

Ms. Sampath was living alone at Akshaya Layout in Hulimavu on Bannerghatta Road. She had built the house two years ago. She worked as an assistant manager at a private iron and steel company at Arakere on Bannerghatta Road.

Ms. Sampath normally returned home from work around 6.30 p.m. After getting down from the company vehicle on Bannerghatta Road, she used to travel by an autorickshaw to reach home.

On Wednesday evening, as the regular driver had not turned up, she took another autorickshaw and reached home around 6.30 p.m., the police said quoting her neighbours. The neighbours had not seen her after that.

Around 10.30 a.m. on Thursday, a neighbour came to Ms. Sampath's house to fetch water from the sump. As the main door was latched from outside, he looked through a window and found her lying dead, the police said.

He alerted Ms. Sampath's cousin, Sreenivasan, an assistant general manager with HAL, who lives in the same locality. Subsequently, Mr. Sreenivasan came to Ms. Sampath's house and informed the police of the incident.

Additional Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Bipin Gopalkrishna, Joint Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gopal B. Hosur and Mr. Mukherjee visited the scene of crime.

Mr. Mukherjee told The Hindu that four teams have been formed to trace and arrest the culprits. In similar incidents reported since September 15, Lakshmamma (73) and Lalitha (66) were murdered at their houses in Vyalikaval and Basaveshwaranagar police station limits and they were robbed of their gold ornaments.

While the police have arrested two youths from Andhra Pradesh on the charge of murdering Lakshmamma and recovered from them the jewellery, they are yet to trace the killers of Lalitha.