The Agripada police on Sunday booked a minor and arrested a man for allegedly killing a 65-year-old homeless woman while attempting to rob her bag in the city's Dhobi Ghat area.
Senior Police Inspector Yogendra Pache said the two were roaming around in Dhobi Ghat late at night on Saturday when they found the victim, identified as Sharda Keshav Waghmare, sleeping on the footpath. “She had kept the bag under her head while sleeping. Both the suspects tried to pull the bag in an attempt to steal it, but it was hooked to the victim's hand. While they were pulling the bag, she fell onto the ground, almost 3 feet down, leading to a deep cut on her head,” explained Mr Pache. The CCTV footage in the locality confirmed that the woman died after falling on the road.
After receiving an alert, the police reached the spot and rushed the victim to the Nair hospital but she was declared dead on arrival. The cause of death was said to be her head injury. On Sunday morning, the police arrested Shubham Choubey, a 28-year-old Mahim resident, who works as a labourer. The CCTV footage also showed another suspect, who is a minor aged 15 years and lives in Dhobi Ghat. Both together wanted to make quick money. “It's a case of petty theft. They saw the bag, and thought (the money in) it could be of use for a day or two, so they wanted to steal it,” added Mr Pache.
The duo has been charged for murder while the cops are probing if Choubey has a past criminal record.
