Kolkata: Kolkata Police on Saturday arrested a nursemaid (ayah) and her accomplice for the murder of 79-year-old Bijaya Das, who was found dead inside her New Garia residence under Panchasayar Police tation on Friday.
The nursemaid, Ashalata Sardar (36) of Meherpur in South 24-Parganas, had been working at the Das household for just five days.
She was picked up from her rented accommodation in Narendrapur in the early hours of Saturday.
Her associate, Md Jalal Mir (41) of Uttar Durgapur in the same district, was arrested later that morning.
According to police, Sardar entered the house on Friday morning while Mir waited outside. When Bijaya resisted an attempt to snatch her jewellery, Sardar allegedly smothered her with a cloth and struck her on the head. She then tied the victim’s hands and feet before fleeing with the ornaments, which were later recovered from Mir’s possession.
Police sources said the plan was conceived by Mir, though crime itself was carried out by Sardar alone.
A preliminary post-mortem confirmed suffocation as the cause of death. Officers also found the wires of the house’s CCTV cameras cut, indicating premeditation.
The murder came to light when the family’s domestic help raised an alarm after repeated knocks at the door went unanswered. Police found Bijaya dead with her hands and feet tied, while her husband, Prasanta Kumar Das, was discovered bound under a bed but survived.
Sources said the arrested duo later confessed to the crime during interrogation.