Bhubaneswar: Odisha Police have arrested a man in Gujarat’s Surat for allegedly murdering a 76-year-old woman at her residence in Bhubaneswar, an officer said Thursday.
The accused, who was employed as a caretaker for the elderly woman living alone in the Laxmisagar area of the Odisha capital, was being brought to the state on transit remand, he said.
Balbhadra Maharana (40) was arrested Wednesday with the assistance of local authorities in Surat.
The deceased, identified as Kunjalata Nanda, widow of a forest officer, lived in one portion of her two-storey house, while a tenant occupied the other, police said.
Her two sons live in the US and Mumbai, while her two married daughters reside at different locations in Bhubaneswar.
On the morning of November 4, the tenant’s family found no response from Nanda despite repeated calls and ringing the doorbell. They alerted the police, who later found her dead, officers said.
Examination of CCTV footage revealed that the caretaker fled on a scooter with jewellery and other valuables November 3, police said.
Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner S Dev Datta Singh said the accused frequently changed locations to evade arrest, travelling to Puri, Kolkata, Ranchi, Panipat, Surat and Vadodara over the past week.
“He was arrested while moving on a bus from Surat to New Delhi. Our special team arrested him after intercepting the bus,” Singh said.
Maharana had been working at the woman’s residence for more than five months. He was engaged by Bidyadyadhara Maharana, who had been working as a domestic help for the deceased’s elder son for over seven years, the commissioner said.
Police recovered Rs 20,600 in cash, two mobile phones and a few gold ornaments, including a locket, finger ring and earrings, from the accused, he added.