Vasco: A 70-year-old woman, Gayatri Marathe was found murdered at her bungalow at Khariawada, Vasco, on Sunday evening. The senior citizen was living alone after the demise of her husband two years ago.

According to sources, the deceased’s maid knocked on her door in the afternoon. As Marathe failed to open the door, the maid left. When she returned in the evening, she found the door open and Marathe was lying in a pool of blood.

The maid ran outside and informed the people who called the police.

“It looks like her throat was slit with a sharp weapon. A sharp weapon was recovered near the body,” said police. Marathe had no children.

While her distant relatives do not suspect anyone, the motive of robbery cannot be ruled out, said police.

President of the Nationalist Congress Party, Jose Philip Dsouza, said, “Senior citizens should be accompanied by caretakers or at least their details should be shared with the nearby police station. Police should keep a track on the well-being of senior citizens living alone. There is an increase in crime in Goa. This is the second murder in two weeks in Vasco, and it is a grave matter of concern.”

The postmortem will be conducted on Monday.

Vasco police have registered a case of a murder. Vasco police inspector Kapil Nayak is the investigating officer.