Amritsar, February 7: A 45-year-old woman and her 22-year-old daughter were found murdered at their residence at Darshan Avenue near Golden Gate here in the early hours on Tuesday.
Before fleeing, the killers put the house on fire in a bid to burn the bodies of the victims, Gagan Verma and her daughter Shivnaini. The matter came to light when a neighbour called fire brigade after seeing smoke emanating from the windows of the house around 1:30 am. The police found the body of Gagan in a room on the ground floor of the house and of Shivnaini on the second floor.
A cop said Shivnaini’s hands were tied and a cloth was found stuffed in her mouth. She was half naked, which suggested that she was raped. Gagan’s brother Sanjeev Verma, however, suspected that both victims were raped. He said the killers had fled with several valuables from the house.
Gagan was working as a clerk at a government school in Jandiala Guru, while Shivnaini was pursuing B.Ed from a local college. Both were living alone since December 20 last year after Gagan’s son Gaurav went to Canada on a study visa. Gagan had divorced her husband 14 years ago, her brother said.
Neeraj Kumar, SHO, Sultanwind police station, said they had registered a case and started the investigation. The bodies were sent to Government Medical College for post-mortem. Since the bodies were partially burnt, the police have so far not been able to ascertain the cause of death or the weapons used. They say mystery over their murder and rape would be known only after the autopsy.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
