NEW DELHI: A 72-year-old woman was murdered at her home in Dwarka and her body dumped in the Najafgarh drain by a couple who allegedly owed her money, police said on Tuesday.
The deceased has been identified as Kavita. The accused man has been identified as Anil Arya, an event manager and his wife as Tanu. They are in their thirties.
The woman lived with her son and his wife. The murder happened when they had gone out of town.
The woman was reported missing on July 7. The police began investigation after receiving a complaint and found during spot inquiries that a couple living in the neighborhood was missing as well.
A case of abduction was registered and a manhunt initiated. The couple was subsequently tracked down on the basis of technical surveillance.
The couple broke down during interrogation and disclosed that they had taken a loan of Rs one lakh during Covid-19 pandemic but were unable to return the money. Of late, the elderly woman had started asking them to return her money and threatened to lodge a complaint.
Inspired by a TV serial, the accused couple allegedly hatched a plot to eliminate the woman. They went to her house in Mohan Garden locality on the pretext of returning the money. Once there, they caught and strangled her to death. The accused couple then stuffed her body in a bag and put it in the boot of their car. They drove to the Najafgarh canal and dumped her body there.
The police have recovered the body on the instance of the accused couple who have been booked for offences, including abduction, criminal conspiracy, murder and destruction of evidence.
The body of the elderly woman will be handed over to the family after autopsy. While a source said the body was found hacked into three parts, the police did not confirm these reports.
Last week, a relative had murdered a woman and her son in Uttam Nagar as he owed them Rs 50,000. A washerman and his associates murdered an elderly woman in Vasant Vihar for money last week as well. A family was held hostage and their house looted by robbers in Uttam Nagar recently.
