Man borrows Rs 3 lakh from aunt, repays her with murder

Sleuths from the VP Road police station arrested a 40-year-old man yesterday for murdering his 75-year-old aunt Sarla Vasudevan at her residence in H Building, New Amrutwadi, on September 27.

Killer nephew: Mayuresh Suresh Redkar alias Tushar

After her body was discovered by the maid the next day, the police began investigating whether it was a robbery gone awry, as two gold bangles and a chain were missing from the flat.

During the initial investigation, the police questioned possible suspects and relatives of the deceased and after digging deeper, found that Dombivli resident Mayuresh Suresh Redkar alias Tushar had taken Rs 3 lakh from Sarla earlier this year to start a video recording firm.

They also learned that he had not repaid the amount.

Meanwhile, doctors conducted the post-mortem at JJ Hospital and concluded that the victim died because of asphyxiation and had injuries on her neck. The police then registered a murder case and picked up Redkar on suspicion. Though Redkar initially denied any involvement, he eventually confessed during interrogation that he had smothered his aunt with a pillow because he had no intention of repaying the
Rs 3 lakh and she was constantly pestering him for the money.

The police said that the victim used to sleep with the front door open and on September 28, her maid Laxmi Yelande arrived and found her body on the floor. She immediately informed relatives and the police were called.

Relatives informed the police that two gold bangles and a chain belonging to the victim were missing.

"We interrogated several people, including the watchman of the building, and also looked at the possibility of relatives killing her for her property as she did not have any children. Since valuables were missing, robbery was considered the possible motive," said Rajendra Chavan, senior police inspector of the VP Road police station.

Chavan added that they learnt through Sarla's relatives that she was asking for her money, but Redkar was unable to repay her.

During interrogation, Redkar also confessed that he had his eye on his aunt's property. "Sarla was a divorcee and was a retired employee of the Indian Education Trust and used to get a pension," Chavan said. u00a0