Two resto-bar waiters held for rape, murder of senior citizen

MUMBAI: Two men who raped and killed a 64-year-old woman in Nadia district, West Bengal, on May 7 have been arrested by Mumbai police.
Sudhakar Sikhdhar, 35, and Govind Sarkar, 28, were apprehended on Saturday evening near Lions Gate, where they had come to collect money from a friend so that they could escape to Nepal.

Sikhdhar, a bachelor, used to work as a waiter at a popular Colaba resto-bar while Sarkar, a divorcee, worked as a waiter in a Khar restaurant. At the time of the crime, they were working as daily wage labourers in West Bengal.

The two were caught based on "specific information", said a police officer. "But we did not have details about the area where the offence was committed and who the deceased was. During sustained interrogation, the two admitted to killing a woman in West Bengal," said the officer.

Senior inspector Sukhlal Varpe of MRA Marg police station said, "The two told us that on May 7, around 9.30pm, they had dinner at Cooper Camp, Nadia district, where they lived. Then they went to the woman's home to ask for water. But somehow a quarrel broke out and they started beating her up. They punched her in the mouth and the head. Eventually, the old woman fell unconscious. This was when Sarkar raped her."

Varpe said that soon, the woman regained conscious and started crying for help. "Sikhdhar told us he and Sarkar panicked. Sikhdhar said the woman bit him on the hand and furious at this, he, too, raped her. The duo then strangled her before fleeing."

When the woman's body was discovered, a case of murder was lodged by her daughter (who is married) at the nearest police station, said Varpe.

After their arrest, the duo was produced by the MRA Marg police station at a local court, which remanded them in police custody till May 14 (Monday). "Their custody will be handed over to a police team from West Bengal," said a police officer.