Peddler held in elderly woman’s murder in Muchipara; stolen ornaments recovered

Kolkata: Three days after the brutal murder of a 76-year-old woman in Muchipara, Kolkata Police arrested a 53-year-old travelling vendor from South 24 Parganas. Police have also recovered all the stolen gold and silver ornaments from his residence. The accused, Moymur Ali Gazi, was tracked down and arrested early Saturday morning from his residence in Mirzapur, Hansuri, under the jurisdiction of Mograhat police station.

According to police sources, Gazi, a peddler dealing in old items, entered Namita Paul’s home on Serpentine Lane around 9 am on June 11, on the pretext of buying old furniture. Paul, who lived alone, was reportedly looking to sell some of it. Once inside, Gazi allegedly strangled her with a cloth he was wearing around his neck, looted jewellery and cash, and locked the door from outside using a spare padlock and key he had picked up from her home. Paul’s lifeless body was discovered around 6 pm the same evening by a relative, who spotted her through a window and alerted the police.

During the investigation, CCTV footage from the neighbourhood showed a man exiting the premises with an umbrella concealing his face, which initially made identification difficult. However, detectives used “gait pattern analysis”, a technique that studies a person’s manner of walking, to match the suspect with Gazi. Based on leads and surveillance, investigators travelled to Mograhat, confirmed his identity through gait analysis, and arrested him around 4:30 am on Saturday. During a subsequent search of the accused’s house, police recovered four gold bangles, two gold finger rings, a gold locket, and several silver items. The umbrella, bag, and clothing worn by the accused were also seized.