Sixth senior citizen murdered in 15 days

The 67-year-old, who was alone in her Malad apartment, was bludgeoned to death between 2 pm and 5 pm; valuables found missing from a cupboard Another senior citizen was found brutally murdered yesterday, making this the sixth such case in the last 15 days.The victim was 67-year-old Sarla Patel, a resident of Malad, who was murdered by an unidentified person at her residence in Vishal apartments. Patel was bludgeoned with a blunt object, and bled to death. Sarla Dalalu00a0was found dead by her family members. The murder was discovered at around 5.30 pm, when Patel's husband Raman Bhai, along with her son and daughter-in-law, returned home and knocked at the door. When Patel did not answer, they started making frantic phone calls and banged on the door, but received no response from the other end. Fearing the worst, they alerted their neighbours, who broke open the door to discover her body.Police sources revealed that the murder was committed between 2 pm and 5 pm.The victim's husband Raman suffered from a heart ailment and had been accompanied by his son and daughter-in-law to the hospital for a check-up.Maid suspectedThe last person to have allegedly visited the house was the maid, who usually leaves after completing all her chores at 3 pm.The police have been speaking to the family members and will be interrogating her soon.The motive behind the murder seems to be robbery, as the cupboard door was found open, with Patel's bangles and chain missing.The police indicated that cash could also have gone missing from the cupboard, but could not provide an accurate estimate.Police Inspector Rajaram Prabhu said, They avail the services of a maid, who leaves around 3 pm every day.u00a0We will be questioning her. Whoever committed the crime knew that the victim would be alone at home in the afternoon. This indicates that the accused was known to the victim.Police sources added that they would also be questioning other people who frequented the house in the afternoons.This is the third murder of a senior citizen this week. Earlier, two other senior citizens were found murdered at Juhu and Vikhroli.Attacks on senior citizensA 68-year-old Bharti Shah was found killed in her Juhu apartment on September 12.u00a0Just three days ago, an 85-year-old woman had been found strangulated to death in her Matunga home.u00a0In a similar incident on August 29, the bodies of Kavita Suchak (45) and her driver Prakash Bagwe were found in the ground floor flat of the Suchaks at Jai Jagdish Society at JVPD in Juhu.