Mumbai, Oct 8 (Mid-Day): The gruesome murder of a senior citizen came to light yesterday, after a 62-year-old woman was found murdered at her Vashi residence.

Asha Thakur, a retired teacher, was found in her bedroom with her head smashed to pulp with a hammer. The woman stayed at E6 building in sector 1 of the Navi Mumbai suburb with her husband, son and daughter-in-law.

The incident came to light when the housemaid entered the house at 7 in the morning and found Asha’s body lying on the floor. The police suspect the involvement of her husband, Jagmohan Thakur, who went missing since the crime was committed. He works at a local bank.

According to officials, the husband left the house before 5 am yesterday. Senior Inspector Laxman Kale from Vashi police station said, “Their domestic help entered the house at 7 am. After cleaning the area outside, when she opened Asha’s bedroom, she saw the body. She shrieked loudly, which woke up the son, Tushar, and his wife, who were sleeping in another room.”

Suspicious behaviour
Jagmohan’s phone had been switched off since the murder. His son managed to get through to him last evening, and asked him to come back home. Jagmohan, who refused to reveal his location, was upset and said he would return home in a couple of hours, said his son. Police officials nabbed him when he came back to the residence in the evening.

Other residents of the building say that the family always kept to themselves and didn’t mingle with the neighbours. Rahul Sawle, a resident of the same building, said, “They have been staying on the first floor of E6 building for the last six years. But, the family never talked to anyone in the building. In fact, even the watchman doesn’t know anything about them, except for the fact that a family of four stayed in the flat.”

Jagmohan has been booked under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Primary interrogations revealed that he wanted to move back to Himachal Pradesh, the family’s native place, but his wife had refused to do so.

This had caused frequent arguments between them. The police also say that the suspect has been depressed for quite some time.