Agra: A 19-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his 80-year-old neighbour in Mathura and fleeing with jewellery worth nearly Rs 10 lakh and Rs 16,600 in cash, police said on Saturday. The accused, Bharat Kumar , who worked at a kachori shop, allegedly bludgeoned Kusum Chaturvedi with a brick before ransacking her house
The next morning, on Oct 25, a neighbour who delivered milk to Kusum’s house found the door ajar. Police recovered jewellery worth nearly Rs 10 lakh from him, including bangles, 11 chains, 31 rings, two lockets, 27 pairs of earrings and a nose pin, along with Rs 16,600 in cash. He was arrested under BNS Sections 103(1) (murder), 309 (robbery) and 317 (offences relating to stolen property), the SSP said.
He then returned home, changed his clothes and went to sleep, police said. “We examined CCTV footage and identified him as a suspect before arresting him near his residence around 10.30pm on Thursday,” the SSP said. When she fell, he allegedly struck her face as well before entering the house and taking jewellery and cash from the safe. She went inside, found Kusum lying in a pool of blood and alerted other residents, who informed the police. During the investigation, Bharat allegedly kept track of the police action and began planning to flee to Delhi, where he intended to spend the stolen money.