Shop employee arrested for elderly woman’s murder

New Delhi, July 27 (IANS) A 25-year-old man has been arrested for the murder of an elderly woman, the wife of a shopkeeper, in south Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar area, police said on Wednesday.

Police said Kamlesh, a native of Barabanki district in Uttar Pradesh, murdered Vimla Rani Ahuja, 64, after entering her house on Sunday while her husband and son were away at their shop. He then escaped with Rs 7 lakh in cash and jewellery.

"He was arrested from his native place on Tuesday," Deputy Commissioner of Police (South East) Mandeep Singh Randhawa told reporters here.

The police got the lead in the crime from the close-circuit television's footage from a neighbour’s building, where the accused was seen entering the house and then returning with a bag.

Randhawa said: "The elderly woman was murdered as Kamlesh wanted to earn easy money. He was not satisfied with his salary that he got working at her son’s shop in Lajpat Central Market."

The accused had taken leave from his employer a month ago on the pretext of ill health of his son. "He returned to Delhi on July 22 and killed Ahuja the day after."

The police recovered Rs 1.53 lakh from Kamlesh's house in Srinivaspuri slums.