Panchkula: Retired Army captain's wife killed, maid and family arrested
A 72-year-old woman, the wife of a retired Army captain, was killed allegedly by their domestic help after an argument over missing jewellery in Panchkula, police said on Tuesday, August 4.
The body of Neera Mehta was recovered from the rooftop of a house in Sector-21, Panchkula, on Monday, police said, adding that the maid, her husband and their son have been arrested in the case.
Police said they solved the murder within 24 hours and arrested the three accused.
Panchkula DCP Aditi Singh told reporters that on Monday, retired Army captain Manmohan Lal Mehta, a resident of Panchkula, lodged a complaint at the Sector-21 police post.
He stated in the complaint that his wife, Neera Mehta, had gone to the house of their domestic help in Sector-21 after suspecting her of stealing jewellery from their home, and had not returned.
The DCP said police immediately reached the domestic help's house, which was locked from outside. From the terrace of a neighbouring house, police spotted the woman's body wrapped in a mat, lying on the rooftop of an adjoining house.
A case was registered at Sector-20 police station under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238(B) (causing disappearance of evidence), 3(5) (criminal act done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) and 305 (theft) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
During the investigation, the Sector-21 police post team arrested the main accused, identified as the maid Sunita, her husband Shankar, and their son Raja, from Panchkula, the DCP said.
According to the initial probe, an argument over the suspected theft turned into a physical scuffle, during which the elderly woman died, the officer said, adding that the exact cause of death would be known after the post-mortem report. The accused told police they had been living in Panchkula for several years.
DCP Singh said all three accused would be produced before a court in Panchkula on Wednesday to seek police remand.
She further said that Commissioner of Police Pankaj Nain had earlier launched a special helpline — 9115777026 — for senior citizens living alone in Panchkula. Through this helpline, senior citizens can get their domestic helps verified by police and seek immediate assistance whenever required, the officer said.
Singh appealed to senior citizens living alone to contact the helpline, their nearest police station, or the concerned police post to get their domestic helps verified. She added that in this case, the elderly couple had not informed police that they were living alone.
So far, 170 senior citizens living alone have been identified in Panchkula, the officer said.
(With PTI inputs)
