The murder of 70-year-old Sarla Kaka in Lucknow's Sarojini Nagar was solved by the UP Police on Friday -- four days after the crime was committed. The case was solved by the arrest of a 30-year-old man and his 29-year-old girlfriend, a neighbour of the victim. The police claimed that Sarla was murdered by the duo to claim her ornaments and other valuables.
Sarla Kaka was killed at her home in broad daylight by Suraj Yadav, native to Unnao and Archana Sharma, who worked at a beauty saloon. It was Archana who tipped off Suraj, her boyfirned, about the senior citizen's whereabouts. They decided to commit the crime during day hours so that Sarla's domestic help would be suspected of the crime. Archana used to regular the victim's apartment after the crime to keep Suraj posted of the developments in the police investigation, reports said.
Gaming addiction causes financial crisis
A gaming addict, Suraj had lost huge sums of money playing online. Apart from losing his motorbikes, brother's cell phone and a car, he took over Rs 50,000 from Archana to keep playing. However, his luck didn't change and ended up losing the entire sum. The addict then mortgaged the jewellery of his girlfriend’s mother. When all doors shut, Archana and Suraj decided to rob Sarla for money, DCP (South) Tej Swaroop Singh was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
Planned crime
Archana knew Sarla Kaka was living alone and had noticed her donning gold ornaments. She was a pensioner and had regular source of income, she had learnt. Thus, they conspired to rob the septuagenarian of her valuables, the report said.
On the day of the crime, Archana knocked at Sarla's house around 12:00 pm. The maid had left and the unsuspecting woman served her neighbour snacks, the police said. Once she was in, Archana dialled Suraj. The duo hit Sarla on the head multiple times before strangling the elderly woman using her own dupatta to death, the news report said. They left the house after pocketing the victim's jewellery, mobile phone, and other valuables.
CCTV traps Suraj
While Archana was not among the suspect list, Suraj Yadav was caught on CCTV cameras. One of the footages showed him wearing a towel around his neck which was found at the crime scene, the police told the media. The receipt of the mobile phone stolen from the victim helped the cops to track it and soon Suraj was nabbed. Once he was caught, Archana Sharma's role in the crime came to light and she was arrested, said the DCP.
