Navi Mumbai: A 55-year-old widow was found murdered by strangulation in her ground floor room in Kundevahal village, Panvel taluka, on Saturday. Nitin Thakare, senior inspector of Panvel City said, “As there was no forcible entry into the house, it seems like the accused was known to the victim and she allowed entry to her house. Hence, the neighbours and relatives of the victim have been summoned to the police station for inquiry. The victim’s gold ornaments, including her mangalsutra, bangles, and earrings worth around Rs 1.55 lakhs, were stolen.”The victim, Sangita Mhatre, who resided with her son and his family in a G+1 building. While she stayed alone in the ground floor room, her son, daughter-in-law, and their son stayed on the first floor. The incident occurred on Friday night and came to light on Saturday morning when her son, who earns a living by driving his T-permit car, went to her room before leaving for work and found her lying unconscious. She was rushed to Panvel sub-district hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival. The doctors stated the cause of death was due to strangulation. As the victim’s gold ornaments that she was wearing and those kept at home were found stolen, her son claimed that she might have been murdered by an unidentified robber. Accordingly, the Panvel City police registered an FIR for murder along with theft. Inspector Thakare said, “As of now, there is no lead in the murder case, but multiple teams have been formed to gather technical evidence to zero in on the accused.”
