VASCO: In a gruesome incident, a woman and her daughter-in-law were murdered, while the other daughter-in-law was injured when a gang of four robbers looted their flat in Mangor Hill, Vasco, in the wee hours of Friday.
The four robbers entered into the flat at Shree Kamat Palace Co-operative Housing Society in Mangor Hill, Vasco, and strangulated Usha Naik and her daughter-in-law Dr Neha Naik. They also stabbed Usha’s other daughter-in-law Pratima Naik, before fleeing with the booty. The six-month-old baby of the murdered Neha was, however, unharmed.
The incident came to light when Pratima, who was bleeding from a stab wound in her stomach and a head injury, rushed out of their flat at about 3.45 am and alerted the Society Secretary Baburao Naik.
Narrating the sequence of events to Herald, Baburao said: “Pratima started banging the door of my flat on the ground floor at about 3.45 am. She informed me that some persons had
entered their flat and had injured her mother-in-law and her sister-in-law. I dialled 100 without wasting any time and informed other residents of the building.”
Another resident of the building, Abhay Patil, said they had tried contacting the police (100) and ambulance (108), but could not get connected. “Baburao and I then rushed to Vasco police station and informed the police about the incident,” informed Patil.
Pratima, who sustained minor stab injuries, was shifted to a private hospital in Vasco. Police later recorded her statements in the case.
When asked whether the police had summoned a police dog squad, Patil replied: “The police informed us that a police dog squad and the fingerprint experts had already been informed.”
“The dog squad reached the site only at about 8 am. Had the dog squad to reach the crime site at about 6.30 am, the police could have taken the dogs to the Vasco Railway Station to check if the accused were trying to flee from Vasco, as the first train, the Howrah Express, leaves the station at 7 am,” said Patil.
Baburao further informed that he along with the society chairman and other residents rushed to the flat and found Usha lying dead in the hall. Neha was dead in her bedroom, while her six-month-old baby girl, Sneha, was unharmed.
“We immediately took the child in our possession and kept her with the family of another resident, Ulhas Joshi,” he informed.
By dawn, most senior police officials, right from police sub-inspectors to the Deputy Superintendent of Police rushed to the site.
Police investigations ruled out forced entry into the house, after ascertaining that the robbers had entered the flat by unlocking the front door. The robbers then stabbed Pratima and murdered Usha and Neha by smothering and strangulating them, before ransacking the house.
Residents later informed Herald that on Thursday at about 5 pm, two men had visited the Naik family and informed that they had come from the gas agency to inspect their LPG cylinder.
It is assumed that before leaving the flat, they took the keys of the front door and the gate, along with the lock, which was on the TV table in the hall.
It is also learnt that the four persons had sprinkled chilli powder all over the flat after the crime, to prevent the police dogs from sniffing their trail. Incidentally, the police sniffer dog pressed into service went almost 100 metres before losing the trail. Fingerprint experts also visited the flat and collected some fingerprints from the crime site.
It is also learnt that the husbands of Neha and Pratima, are working on board the ships and at the time of the incident, one was in Philippines while the other was in the USA.
Admitting that there was no security guard at the time of the incident, a resident said the security guard was sacked about two months back as he was found not doing his duty properly. “Since then, the building did not have a night security guard,” admitted the resident.
South Goa Superintendent of Police Shekar Prabhudesai also visited the place to take stock of the situation.
Responding to claims from the society secretary and other residents that efforts to contact the 108 ambulance and the police at 100 had been futile, SP Prabhudesai said he would verify whether the 108 and 100 had received a call and the time of their response.
When further brought to his notice that the dog squad positioned near Verna police station had failed to reach the site before 7 am, Prabhudesai said he would verify why there had been a delay.
Will use entire police force to crack case: IGP
VASCO: Stating that Goa police will form a special committee to investigate into the murder of two women in Vasco, State IGP Sunil Garg said thorough police investigations into the case would be their topmost priority. Speaking to media persons after visiting the crime site to take stock of the situation, Garg said “We will involve the entire police force to solve this case. We will involve good officers and form a strong team to crack the case.”
Two murder cases still remain unsolved
VASCO: The double murder at a flat in Mangor Hill, Vasco, in the wee hours of Friday revived painful memories of two other murders in Mormugao taluka between 2011 and 2012, with police still clueless into the deaths of two women at Dabolim and Baina.
It may be recalled that Ivone Paes had been murdered, while her husband, Maximiano, was brutally assaulted in their bungalow at Dabolim on July 6, 2011.
In the second case, Martha Felix Dias, a 60-year-old widow, was robbed and brutally murdered at her residence at Sasmollem-Baina on June 18, 2012.
