A72-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her domestic help after confronting her over missing jewellery in Haryana’s Panchkula. The victim, Neera Mehta, was the wife of a retired Army captain.
Her body was found on the rooftop of a house in Sector 21 on Monday. Police arrested the family’s domestic help, Sunita Devi, along with her husband, Shankar, and their son, Raja, within 24 hours of receiving the complaint.
During the investigation, CCTV footage reportedly showed Sunita Devi and her son carrying Neera Mehta’s body and hiding it on the rooftop of a nearby house. The two were allegedly seen taking the body to the rooftop of a nearby house and covering it, apparently in an attempt to hide the crime and avoid suspicion.
According to police, retired Army captain Manmohan Lal Mehta approached the Sector 21 police post after his wife did not return home. He informed officers that some jewellery had gone missing from their house. He also said that his wife had gone to question their domestic help about the suspected theft.
Panchkula Deputy Commissioner of Police Aditi Singh said the family had reported the missing jewellery and that Neera Mehta had gone to speak with the domestic help regarding it.
After receiving the complaint, police reached the domestic help’s house, but it was locked from the outside. Officers then entered a neighbouring house and searched the adjoining rooftop, where they found Neera Mehta’s body wrapped up and hidden under a cover near a tree.
A case was registered at Sector 20 police station under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder, theft, destruction of evidence and acting together to commit the crime.
During questioning, police detained Sunita Devi, her husband and their son before formally arresting them.
According to the initial investigation, Neera Mehta and the domestic help allegedly got into an argument over the missing jewellery. Police believe the dispute turned violent, leading to the elderly woman’s death. The investigation is still underway.
During interrogation, the accused reportedly denied stealing any jewellery from the house. Sunita Devi claimed that Neera Mehta accidentally slipped and fell, leading to her death.