Sandha's throat had been slit open, and there was a thick pool of coagulated blood near the neck region. Plus, there were rope marks on the neck, indicating that the killer had strangled her before slitting her throat. Her body lay in the kitchen between the fridge and the faucet. Sandha stayed alone in the A-3 apartment on the 10th floor of Diamond Court building, Napean Sea Road.

A post-mortem report has suggested that the killing may have taken place on Sunday. On Saturday evening, police said, Sandha had thrown a party at her residence, which was attended by senior citizens in the neighbourhood.

Investigators believe that the murderer must have got into the flat by posing as a salesman or a service engineer, as there was no sign of forced entry. However, the killer had left the house in a mess. The cupboard was foundopen, and clothes and other items were strewn in the hall and the bedroom. Sleuths have managed to find some fingerprints in the bathroom and have also recovered a nylon rope with which the killer strangled the woman before slit her throat. Kheroo Soli Keswani, a friend of Sandha, rang her up at around 8 am on Monday, but nobody answered the telephone. When she tried again at around 5 pm, there was still no response from the other side.

Alarmed, Kheroo went to Sandha's flat and opened it with a duplicate key which she had had in her possession for the last four years. The victim and Keswani had employed the same maid servant. The servant was accompanying Keswani when she opened Sandha's flat.

After Malabar Hill police were alerted at around 7 pm on Monday, the flat was sealed off and sniffer dogs called in to assist police investigations.Mehroo, a former officer with the Bank of India, had retired from service about 15 years ago. Her only daughter Shenaz Rumi Shroff was at Kelwa, a tourist spot nearDahanu, during the weekend.

Investigations are being carried out by inspector S Shirsagar and sub-inspectors Suhas Patil and Avinash Sawant, sources added. Most residents of the neighbouring building were unaware of the murder, and even vendors in the vicinity of Diamond Court building pleaded ignorance about the incident despite the strong police presence.