BENGALURU: A 36-year-old home-alone woman was strangled to death by a robber at her house in Chikkajala near Devanahalli on Thursday evening. Within an hour of the incident, the police detained the suspect who is said to be a family friend. The deceased has been identified as Chandrakala, wife of Srinivas Kumar. The couple are residents of Bharathinagar in Chikkajala and have two children.
"The incident took place around 3.30 pm when Chandrakala was asleep. The door was partially open and the robber who had been observing the movements of the victim and her family for the past few days barged inside the house and strangled her with a piece of cloth. He also smothered her to ensure her death and then fled along with her mangalasutra.
Chandrakala's husband Srinivas, a barber, was in his shop at Hunasamarahalli at the time of the incident. When her mother Lalithamma turned up, she found Chandrakala's body with the mangalasutra missing," said a police officer.
Lalithamma raised an alarm and the neighbours rushed to see what had happened. Chikkajala police were alerted about the incident and based on a tip-off, the police nabbed the accused from a village near Doddaballapura. The booty was also recovered.
"The assailant and Srinivas were friends for the past few years. He had a financial crisis and hence decided to rob the gold from Chandrakala. The area has no CCTV camera, but a neighbour who had noticed the accused near Chandrakala's house shared details with the police. It is too early to reveal the identity of the assailant," the officer added.