This Article is From Mar 18, 2012

Woman kills mother-in-law for objecting to her working as insurance agent

Pune: A woman was arrested here for killing her mother-in-law six days ago for objecting to her working as an insurance agent, police said on Saturday.

Shweta Shelarka, 32, killed her mother-in-law Shobha Laxmikant Shelarka, 62, on Monday and then attempted to pass it off as a robbery-cum-murder, said Deputy Commissioner of Police Dnyaneshwar Phadtare.

The incident took place in Sarita Apartments in the Mayur Colony neighbourhood of Kothrud suburb of Pune at around 7.30 p.m. when the victim's husband and son were away at work, he said.

According to police, Shweta made her mother-in-law sit on a chair on the pretext of applying make-up on her and then strangled her.

Later, she also made some cuts on the body with a knife to make it appear like an attack.

She then took a bath, changed her dress and went to fetch her four-year-old daughter who was playing outside.

On returning, she raised an alarm and claimed that she found the apartment door open and her mother-in-law lying dead in a pool of blood. She informed her neighbours who called the police.

Police found some cash and jewellery missing from the apartment and it was initially considered as a robbery-cum-murder.

Some building residents claimed to having seen two unidentified people fleeing from the scene of the crime on a two-wheeler.

Phadtare said that though prima facie it appeared to be a robbery, they suspected the involvement of an insider behind the murder.

Interrogation of the accused revealed that she wanted to work as an insurance agent but her mother-in-law had opposed it, prompting her to plot the murder, he added.
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