Elderly woman found dead in Coimbatore apartment, probe on

Coimbatore: An elderly woman was found murdered in her apartment near Ramanathapuram in Coimbatore on Sunday morning. Police suspect it to be a case of murder for gain, after preliminary investigation.The victim, Gomathi, 69, was the widow of Thangaraj, a retired sub-registrar who died ten years ago. She lived alone at Ramani's Apartments. Her son and daughter live abroad. The incident came to light when her daughter Rathika arrived from London on Sunday, to help her mother with a scheduled eye surgery. However, when she entered the flat, she found her mother dead in the hall.She alerted the Ramanathapuram police, who reached the scene and secured the area. They later sent the body to the Coimbatore Medical College and Hospital for a postmortem. Residents and apartment security guards said they had last seen Gomathi on Saturday evening."Marks on Gomathi's neck indicated that she has been strangled to death. Her daughter has also pointed out that a gold chain, a pair of bangles, and earrings worn by the deceased are missing. Her mobile phone has also been stolen," said a senior police officer. Police are examining CCTV camera footage from the apartment complex and nearby main roads to identify suspicious movement. Meanwhile, forensic experts have traced the missing mobile phone's signal to Sungam, where it was last active on Saturday evening.A case has been registered, and special teams have been formed to trace the suspects.