A 65-year-old woman was found to have been murdered in her Powai residence on Monday. Her husband, who has been missing since Sunday, is being treated as a suspect in the crime.
According to the Powai police, Sheela Lad, a homemaker, used to live with her husband Ajit at Shiv Shakti Nagar. The murder came to light on Monday night after the Lads’ neighbours, who had not seen them all day, suspected that something was wrong and called the police.
“We suspect that the victim was attacked with a sharp weapon, but have not found a murder weapon in the house. She had sustained several injuries to her head,” police sub-inspector Ramesh Bhosale, who is the investigating officer, said.
The Lads had been staying on rent for the last eight months. However, neighbours do not seem to know much about them, except for a vague impression of Mr. Lad being a government servant.
“Ever since they moved here, they would step out of their house every Sunday. Sheela used to spend most of her time reading newspapers or playing with children in the area. We were surprised to notice that neither of them came out of the house for nearly two days, and hence decided to inform the police,” Sharanjeet Kaur, whose father owns the Lad residence, said.
Ms. Kaur said the Lads were known to be a quiet and friendly family, with only a few instances of delay in paying the rent. “We did not hear any untoward noises from their house on Sunday. There was nothing that could have led us to suspect that something so unpleasant could have happened,” she said.
Sheela’s body was taken to Rajawadi Hospital for post-mortem. The police have registered a case of murder against unknown persons under the Indian Penal Code. “Efforts are on to apprehend Mr. Lad,” Mr. Bhosale said.