Woman found tied, gagged and murdered inside locked house

BHOPAL: A woman living alone in Mauganj district was found murdered inside her house, her hands and legs tied and cloth stuffed into her mouth, with post-mortem findings pointing to death by suffocation, police said on Saturday.

The victim, Uma Singh of Bahuti village, was discovered inside a locked room on Friday morning after neighbours grew suspicious when her house remained shut for long. Villagers peeped inside, found belongings scattered and then spotted the body, sparking panic.

Police said her limbs were bound with cloth and another piece was forced into her mouth, apparently to prevent her from raising an alarm. Investigators believe she may have been overpowered before being killed.

A forensic science laboratory team and fingerprint experts examined the spot and collected evidence from doors, household items and other parts of the house.

Officials said Uma returned to live in her old house in Bahuti village on May 2, and was staying there alone. Police are probing multiple angles, including robbery, personal rivalry and whether the crime scene was deliberately disturbed to mislead investigators. It is still unclear whether any valuables or cash are missing from the house.

“The woman used to live alone and as of now no evidence related to the motive of the murder was found on the crime spot. We are now doing technical analysis of CDR and other data. Post-mortem was done on Saturday. Things will be clear once we get the reports,” sub-divisional officer of police, Mauganj, Sachi Pathak told TOI.

Police have registered a case against unidentified persons, and are people known to the victim as part of the investigation.