Thrissur (Keralam), Oct 15 A 58-year-old man was arrested on Thursday for allegedly murdering his 79-year-old landlady and stealing gold ornaments from her house at Karalam here, police said.
The arrested was identified as Muhammad Rafi, a native of Thriprayar, who allegedly lived in a house rented out by the deceased, Savithri, at Arumpilly near the Karalam veterinary hospital.
Savithri was found dead at her house on Tuesday, and 16 sovereigns of gold ornaments were found missing, police said.
At the time of the incident, Savithri’s husband was taken to hospital by their son Sumesh and daughter-in-law Greeshma.
The incident came to light when their grandchild returned from school, police said.
A postmortem examination confirmed that Savithri was strangled to death.
Police suspected the involvement of someone familiar with the house and the family.
Chilli powder was allegedly spread across the crime scene to mislead investigators, police said.
Following a detailed investigation, police arrested Rafi on Thursday.
Rafi, a Gulf returnee, was facing severe financial difficulties, police said. He had allegedly approached Savithri to pledge gold ornaments, but she refused.
Police said Rafi lived in a house rented out by Savithri and her family, close to their residence.
After noticing that other family members had left the house, the accused allegedly ensured that Savithri was alone before attacking her.
He allegedly strangled her with the saree she was wearing and later smothered her with a pillow to ensure her death, police said.
During interrogation, Rafi confessed to the crime, and his arrest was formally recorded, police added.
(PTI News)
