Two women come looking for a house at  Vontikoppal 3rd Cross; attack elderly woman; flee with gold ornaments.

A 72-year-old woman, who was forced to consume pesticides by some unidentified women who came in the guise of tenants at Vontikoppal on Mar. 11, died yesterday evening. The elderly woman was battling for life at a private hospital. The Police who had initially registered a robbery case have now converted it into a murder-cum-robbery case.

The deceased is Jayamma, mother of late Venkatesh (Pinto), who was the President of Mukhyaprana Vedike and a resident of Vontikoppal 3rd Cross.

On Mar. 11, at around 12.30 pm, two women approached Jayamma saying that they had seen the house which was put up by Jayamma’s family for rent and wished to see the house again. The unsuspecting Jayamma, who thought that her son Vasu might have shown the house, picked up the keys of the vacant house behind the house she is living at present and opened the doors.

The two women, who went around the house for some time, suddenly caught hold of Jayamma, forcibly made her drink pesticides making Jayamma unconscious and decamped with six gold bangles and a gold chain she was wearing. Jayamma, who regained consciousness later, managed to come out and screamed for help. The gold ornaments weighed about 140 grams worth Rs. 4.2 lakh.

Soon after the robbery, Jayamma fell ill and was admitted to a private hospital. In her statement to the Police, Jayamma said that one woman among the two was pregnant. Police later obtained CCTV footage from a nearby residence which showed a blurred footage of two women knocking the doors of Jayamma’s house. The Police had sought the help of technicians to make the footage clear so that it would be helpful in tracing and arresting the culprits.

So far the Police have not made any headway in the case. Vontikoppal 3rd Cross is a crowded area where there is a constant movement of vehicles and people. Residents suspect that some persons known to Jayamma could have committed the crime as they knew that Jayamma’s house was up for rent.

Yesterday, MLA Vasu visited Jayamma’s house and paid his last respects.