Elderly home alone & murdered in cold blood: Driver, aide held

HYDERABAD: Five days after a septuagenarian was murdered in her home in Bhongir mandal, two persons, including her former driver, were arrested by Rachakonda police on Tuesday. This arrest came close on the heels of the arrest of an employee of a home care service, who murdered his 68-year-old landlady in Trimulgherry on May 19.



Seventy-five-year-old Ravi Uma was watching TV at her Nandanam village home on May 18 when Konduri Harish.


(19), who worked as her driver for six months, along with his friend Kunsothu Lingu (35), who has several cases against him, strangulated her to death and took away the gold ornaments and ₹20,000 from the almirah. Uma didn’t suspect anything when Harish entered at around 8pm and asked for a glass of water. As soon as Uma went to the kitchen to fetch water, the duo switched off lights and strangled her to death.

The tragic news was known only the next day when her son Narsimha found her dead. Since July last year, Uma had been living alone after husband Shankar Reddy passed away. Her sons — Vinod shifted to the US for a job and Narsimha moved to Kukatpally. Nandanam is 55 km away from Hyderabad.

“Lingu was involved in a murder and five theft cases in Nacharam police station limits. Along with Harish, he hatched a plan to eliminate her. We recovered all the 11-tola gold worth ₹3.3 lakh,” said Mahesh Bhagwat, commissioner of police, Rachakonda. During interrogation, Harish spilled the beans on killing Uma, taking advantage of the fact that she stayed alone.

Bhagwat said elderly persons becoming victims of such crimes is a cause of concern. “If an elderly person is staying alone, CCTV cameras must be fixed around the house. Close relatives and family friends should also check on them on a daily basis,” he observed.

It may be recalled N Arun, employee of Sudha home care Services, smothered and stabbed Sulochana to death in Trimulgherry and fled with her valuables. He was picked up from Karimnagar on Monday.