Blood-stained footwear helps cops crack elderly woman’s murder - The Times of India

BENGALURU: A pair of blood-stained slippers found at the crime scene has helped police solve the June 15 murder of an elderly woman from Adugodi in southeast Bengaluru. Cops have arrested a welder, who they suspect killed her for gain. G Gajalakshmi, 65, a scrap merchant, was found dead in her Samata Nagar residence in Adugodi. She lived alone. Her husband and son died years ago, while her daughter-in-law and grandchildren live separately. The welder, Syed Nadeem Hameed alias Chuvvi 22, was acquainted with Gajalakshmi. On close examination of the house, cops had discovered a pair of black slippers which couldn’t have belonged to a woman. “It was a man’s footwear. We figured out the suspect had left it behind in a hurry,” police commissioner Praveen Sood said. Experts later found that the burn marks and holes in the slippers were caused by electrical sparks and concluded they may have belonged to a welder, he added.A special police team in plainclothes began surveying the neighbourhood and informers helped them zero in on Hameed.“Investigation revealed that Nadeem was present inside the victim’s house when the incident happened. It has now been proved that the slippers belong to him,” said Hemanth Nimbalkar, additional commissioner of police, (east) adding that Hameed knew Gajalakshmi for 6-7 years.“He realized she had money and on the night of June 15, he barged into the shed and bludgeoned her to death,” Nimbalkar said.Explaining how Nadeem spent the money he looted, DCP (southeast) MB Boralingaiah, said: “On the morning of June 16, he hired an autorickshaw and roamed Shivajinagar and surrounding areas till 1pm. After paying Rs 500 to the auto driver, he went to a hotel and ordered biryani and kebab. Later, he went to a commercial complex and purchased clothes before hosting a party some of his friends attended.