GHAZIABAD: An elderly couple was found murdered in their house in Patel Nagar on Thursday night, allegedly by two assailants who slipped in and out of the compound without raising any alarm amid Diwali celebrations.
Police said the couple was beaten to death with a heavy object but neighbours in the six-storey building and people bursting crackers didn't hear anything as the ambient noise probably masked noise from the house.
Gzb murders: Cops say reason not known yet
Ashok Zaidka (75) and his wife Madhu (73) stayed on the ground floor of the building at Patel Nagar in the Sihani Gate area. Ashok was in the pharmaceuticals business before taking retirement. According to the police, he had been paralysed for about 20 years.
The couple have two daughters and they stay in Noida and Pune with their respective families. The murders were discovered after their daughter Shruti called from Noida to wish them for Diwali. The calls were not answered for about two hours. Around midnight, Shruti finally called up Satyaprakash, a local washerman, and asked him to check on the couple, police said.
Satyaprakash (Papu) told TOI that around 11.55pm on Thursday, Shruti called him and said she had not been able to contact her parents since 10pm. "She asked me to share some of their neighbours' mobile numbers. But I don't have any number saved on my phone. I got my handset repaired recently and lost all contacts. So I told her I will go and check myself," he said.
Satyaprakash reached the house a few minutes later. He said he first rang the bell at the building's main entrance, but no one answered it. "Then I opened the main iron gate and went inside the building. I was about to knock on their house's door but I found it had not been locked properly. I pushed it open and saw the elderly woman lying on the floor. I informed Shruti and the police," he said.
SSP Pawan Kumar said the attackers did not take anything from the house.
