TEAM HERALD
VASCO/PANJIM: As the hunt for suspects in the double murder has been expedited, the police investigating team has hinted the role of an insider in hatching the armed robbery cum murder plan of a woman and her daughter-in-law at Mangor Hill in Vasco.
Sources indicated that the police officials who recorded statements of a few witnesses on day two of the investigation, found evidence pointing fingers at insiders, closely known to the family.
“There is a possibility that an ‘insider’ hired assailants to plot the murder of Usha Naik and her daughter-in-law Dr Neha Naik. We are ascertaining various facts that have come to the fore during the investigation,” an officer said.
Meanwhile, the younger daughter-in-law Pratima Naik, who survived the attack after sustaining a 5-cm cut on her stomach, was earlier taken to the GMC hospital for tests.
Some inconsistencies have come to the fore in connection with Pratima’s statements regarding her escape from four robbers and the sequence of events leading to the double murder.
Speaking to Herald, neighbours said it was highly unlikely that the robbers could have gained easy access to the flat in the wee hours of Friday.
“Even when we used to visit the flat after ringing the door bell, the mother-in-law would first verify the identity of the person by peeping through the kitchen grills, before opening the door. In fact, the door was always sufficiently secured,” recalled a neighbour.
“It is surprising to note that despite having additional latches and bolts, the main door was not latched and bolted from inside on Thursday night,” the neighbour added.
The neighbour also pointed out that an earlier theft in the flat had gone unreported.
“Around three months ago, there was a theft in the flat and some gold ornaments had been stolen. Surprisingly, no complaint was filed at the Vasco police station,” said the neighbour.
Questions are also being asked regarding the sequence of events into the double murder.
It appears unlikely that four robbers would murder Usha and Neha, but would have spared Pratima, given the fact that she would have been a witness to the double murder.
What also appeared unusual was that the robbers had strangulated Usha and Neha, but inflicted a stab wound on Pratima, which was not a life-threatening one.
“If Pratima was struck by a stick with the intention to kill her, the stick should have been struck with sufficient force. However, the victim escaped only with minor injuries, while two other women in the house were attacked till they were murdered,” a source told Herald.
Besides, it is also unclear about Pratima’s whereabouts in the house and her condition at the time, when the four robbers had murdered Usha and Neha, and while they were ransacking the house. Pratima met a neighbour to report the incident only after the robbers had fled away.
Investigations have also found some inconsistencies with Pratima’s claim that she had been struck on her head with a stick.
“No such stick was found in the flat and the only wooden weapon-like object was a large log, which was too heavy to have been used as a weapon,” said the source.
Sources also found out that the robbers managed to open the cupboard using the keys, indicating that they had sufficient knowledge regarding the whereabouts of the keys.
The theory that two men, who posed as cylinder technicians the previous evening of the double murder, had managed to steal the keys to the main door and the lock without much difficulty and without raising suspicion, is also being questioned.
Pratima’s claim the assailants had sprinkled chilli powder in her eyes is also inconsistent, investigations have revealed.
If four robbers had any intention to kill her, they would not have sprinkled chilli powder in her eyes. Likewise, if they did sprinkle chilli powder, as claimed by Pratima, they may not have had plans to kill her in the first place.
Besides, if Pratima did have chilli powder in her eyes, she would have found it difficult to have walked down the staircase at night to have alerted her neighbour of the double murder.
—
What the investigation says
* Mother-in-law used to take added precautions while letting people inside the house. The door was always sufficiently secured, but on the day of the incident, the main door was not latched and bolted from inside on Thursday night
* Robbers had murdered Usha and Neha, but inflicted a 5-cm cut on Pratima’s stomach, which was not a life-threatening one
* Pratima’s whereabouts in the house and her condition at the time are also unclear, when the four robbers had murdered Usha and Neha, and while they were ransacking the house
* Pratima’s claim the assailants had sprinkled chilli powder in her eyes is also inconsistent as she would have found it difficult to have walked down the staircase at night to have alerted her neighbour of the double murder
* The robbers also managed to open the cupboard using the keys, indicating that they had sufficient knowledge of the whereabouts of the keys
