70-yr-old woman stabbed multiple times in Khyala

New Delhi: Barely five days after gruesome murder of an elderly couple in Delhi's Ashok Vihar area, another incident of killing of an elderly woman has rocked the city on Wednesday evening when a 70-year-old woman was reported to die after being stabbed eight times by an ice pick at her residence.

Police, during its initial investigation, have suspected either personal enmity or property dispute a reason behind the tragic incident but have claimed to investigate the matter from other angles too.

According to the police, the deceased was identified as Laxmi Devi, who used to stay alone at her house near Shani Shiv temple in west Delhi's Khyala.

The matter was reported on Wednesday morning when a shopkeeper, from a nearbyshop, told one of her relatives, Bhagwan, that he had called aunty several times but she had not been replying.

He went to the house and pressed the calling bell which was unanswered. It came to his notice that the main door was bolted from outside. Bhagwan went inside to check and he found her lying in a pool of blood with head injuries.

He informed the police and the spot was inspected by a crime team and forensic team.

"There are eight stab wounds also of ice-picker on back, breast and face. She was living alone in a poor condition," said Deputy Commissioner of Police (West) Vijay Kumar .

According to family members, the woman, though old, was very alert. Even when one of them would go to the house she would ask and only till she was assured with their replies, she would not open the gate.

The neighboring houses belonged to her brothers and their families. The victim had five daughters, all of whom had gotten married.

Police have claimed that they have been questioning her relatives and neighbours to gain clues, the police said.

"Nothing was found missing from the house, so robbery does not appear to be a motive," said the DCP.

Police have still not been able to zero in on the reason the elderly woman was killed in such a brutal way.

In a similar incident that happend on Saturday, a septuagenarian couple was found murdered at their residence in north-west Delhi's Ashok Vihar.

Delhi Police had arrested Dinesh, a 22-year-old domestic help, who was on the run after he robbed and killed the elderely couple.

Dinesh, who was employed for taking care of the bed-ridden Ram Lal Bhutani and his wife Kaushal, killed them on the intervening night of September 1 and 2 and then decamped with valuables.