Senior citizen murder case solved, victim’s help arrested from Rajasthan

A 20-year-old youth was picked up by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch from Udaipur on Tuesday night in connection with the murder of senior citizen Nirmala Vora, 78. She was found dead with her throat slit at her Malad residence on November 4. According to the Crime Branch, the accused, Girvarsinh Devda, was an employee of the victim, and has confessed to the crime.

Devda will be handed over to the Malad Police who will make a formal arrest and produce him before a court on Thursday.

Of the 14 cases involving murder of senior citizens this year, 12 were solved with a similar pattern emerging. "In all the cases, there has been no forced entry. In most of them, access was given to the accused, often leading to someone related or known to the deceased," said Himanshu Roy, Joint Commissioner of Police, (Crime). "We now need to think on this while planning the security of senior citizens," he added.

The detection involved questioning a list of "regulars" who had access to the house — from the milk vendor, courier boys, cable TV agent to domestic help. Nirmala and her daughter Chetana co-owned a sugarcane juice centre in Malad, with Devda employed as a helper. He was introduced to the family by his brother who worked in an ice cream parlour next to her shop. The police zeroed in on Devda as he was the only person who had had altercations with Chetana over work. He had quit the job within 22 days of being hired, police said.

Devda allegedly told the Crime Branch that he was fed up with his job and was also facing a financial crisis. He plotted the murder when he noticed Nirmala visiting the shop, "decked in ornaments".

On the day of the murder, Gevda drank with his friends, walked to a Malad hardware vendor, picked up a knife, and "entered the victim's house after he was given access. He slit her thorat and made away with 35 tolas of gold and Rs 35,000 in cash," said Roy.

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