Mumbai: House help hatches robbery plot, kills 69-year-old woman

Mumbai: A woman, who worked as a house help, allegedly killed her 69-year-old employer during the robbery, which she committed along with her husband and stepson. The trio suspects, Shabnam Shaikh, her husband Mohd Umer Shaikh and stepson Shahzad Shaikh, have been arrested, while the victim was identified as Mari Silene Wilfred D'Costa. Shabnam was working for the deceased for the past 15 years. 

According to the police, the incident occurred in Malad West and it came to light on Thursday when D'Costa's grandson Neel Gopal Raibole continuously called the victim but couldn't reach her. Worried, he called the neighbour, who had a key of D'Costa's house, and asked to check on his grandmother. Raibole lived with the deceased for many years but moved to Bangalore after securing a job there. 

Neighbour found woman in bathroom

The neighbour found the elderly woman lying unconscious in the bathroom while her head was immersed in bucket full of water. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her dead on arrival. After getting the news, Raibole and police turned up at D'Costa's home and the grandson informed the cops that several assets were missing. 

Headed by Inspector Bapusaheb Bagal, a team scanned footage from all the CCTV cameras around the building and spotted Shabnam and Shahzad coming out from the building. They also noticed a man wearing a mask in the visuals. 

Based on technical investigation, the police apprehended the mother-son duo. During the probe, it came to fore that Shahzad used to drop Shabnam at work as she suffered from some deformity. They revealed that the man wearing the mask was Umer, who was later arrested from Vasai.

A police official said that D'Costa lived alone. She has two daughters and both of them are settled in Kuwait, so Shabnam had an impression that the senior citizen has great wealth. She planned the robbery with her husband and killed D'Costa during the crime. Two mobile phones, three watches and a gold chain have been recovered from them.

Senior Inspector Ravindra Adane said the suspects have been remanded into police custody April 26.