Patna: 80-Year-Old Woman Murdered in Robbery Attempt, CCTV Wires Cut to Conceal Identity

PATNA – A gruesome incident unfolded in the Dujra Gandhi Statue vicinity of the Buddha Colony police station area, where an 80-year-old woman, identified as Lalita Devi, fell victim to a heinous crime. Lalita Devi, residing alone in her home, was reportedly murdered during a robbery attempt that occurred between Monday night and Tuesday morning.

She was the mother of Jharkhand Sales Tax Commissioner Bhim Prasad.

The chilling discovery was made when the housemaid, arriving in the morning, found the main gate locked from inside. Repeated attempts to gain entry were futile, prompting the maid to seek assistance from nearby relatives. Together, they accessed the house through the back door, only to find Lalita Devi’s lifeless body on the bed.

Lalita Devi’s granddaughter, Nutan Kumar, residing next door, disclosed that her grandmother had been strangled to death during the robbery. In an attempt to conceal the identity of the assailants, the wires of the CCTV cameras inside the house were intentionally cut. However, nearby CCTV footage revealed two individuals leaving the premises with bags at 12:34 pm.

Nutan Kumar recounted that the maid had arrived in the morning, and upon discovering the locked front gate, promptly informed the family. The back gate, however, was open, leading to the shocking discovery of Lalita Devi’s lifeless body on the bed. Notably, no jewelry was found on her body.

Expressing distress, Nutan Kumar asserted that her grandmother had been targeted in a previous chain-snatching attempt, evidenced by visible marks on her neck. The wires of the CCTV cameras installed both inside and outside the house had been deliberately severed.

City Central SP Vaibhav Sharma commented on the case, noting that while the outside door of the house was closed, the back door was found open. The modus operandi suggests that intruders entered with the intention of robbery, eventually resorting to the heinous act of murder. The incident is under investigation, with the assistance of a dog squad team summoned to the scene.

According to Sharma, Lalita Devi lived alone on the ground floor, while a lodge operated on the upper floor of the house for the past three years.