Elderly woman tied up, killed

Police say murder may have taken place between 12pm and 1pm.

A 62-year-old woman was murdered at her Malad house on Wednesday.

Pushpa Mansukhbhai Patel, 62, a resident of a chawl in Bhadranagar, Malad (west), was found dead in her room. Her hands and legs were tied and she was gagged to death with a cloth, the police said. The deceased stayed with her son Ashish, 40, who had gone to Chennai for work on Monday. He is employed with Provogue at Andheri.

Her daughter Shobha is married and stays in Gujarat. The police said murder may have taken place between 12pm and 1pm.

Shaila Telang, 60, the neighbour of the deceased said, "This time is usually siesta time for us. The doors are locked. Our chawl gets water from 3pm to 5pm. Pushpaben and I used to go to fetch water together. As usual, I went to call her at 3pm. The door was open and I saw her lying lifeless in the kitchen."

The locker was broken and some household items were missing. At the time of going to the press, Ashish had not yet come and the police said the extent of robbery cannot be gauged.