Usmanpura woman robbed, killed

AHMEDABAD: A 64-year-old woman, Satnam Kaur Nathani, was killed by robbers who broke into her house on Friday. The woman was found dead by her neighbours at Abhivruddhi Flats behind Navgujarat College in Usmanpura late in the morning. The victim had been living alone on the first floor of the apartment building near Harihar Ashram for more than five years.
According to Naranpura police, Satnam's daughter, Taruna, a resident of Goyal Plaza in Vastrapur, used to call her mother every day to enquire about her welfare. On Friday, she called her at 8 am but there was no response. She tried again at 11 am but in vain. Worried, she called her mother's neighbour, HM Vora.
"When Vora went to check, he found the flat door ajar. He was shocked to find Nathani lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He rushed out and called the police and intimated Taruna about it. Satnam Kaur had head injuries and strangulation marks on her neck. A bloody hammer was also found on a table," said a Naranpura police official.
According to her neighbours, Satnam Kaur kept to herself and used to go to sleep by 8:30 pm every day. Police believe the time of murder to be between 5 and 9 pm.
The assailants had ransacked her house, hunting for valuables. JB Agrawat, sub-inspector of the Naranpura police station, told TOI that Satnam's in-laws said that there was cash and valuables in the house. "She used to wear a gold necklace. That too is missing. The exact amount of valuables missing will only be known after her son, who stays in Pune, returns," Agrawat said.
Police said that there was repair work going on, on a floor above where a few masons and other labourers used to come every day. Nathani had asked them to fix a window a few days ago. "As of now, some of the labourers are prime suspects. We believe that somebody had entered the house on the pretext of work and, on finding her alone, tried to steal something. When caught, the person or persons had assaulted her first with a hammer and then strangulated her to death in the drawing room after a scuffle," said a police investigator.