In a shocking incident in Mohali, the wife of a former senior law officer was found strangled to death in her upscale residence, while the family's domestic help was discovered tied to a chair. The police have launched a murder investigation, with initial findings pointing towards a robbery gone wrong.
Gruesome Discovery in Phase 5 Residence
The victim has been identified as Ashok Kumari Goyal, aged 66. She was the wife of Krishna Kumar Goyal, the former Additional Advocate General of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The grim discovery was made on Tuesday morning by a woman who works at their house in Phase 5, Mohali.
Upon entering the home, the worker found Ashok Kumari Goyal dead. Preliminary examination indicated she had been strangled. In another room, the family's long-time servant, identified as 25-year-old Neeraj, was found bound to a chair.
Robbery Emerges as Primary Motive; Servant Under Scrutiny
According to the Mohali police, the primary motive behind the crime appears to be robbery. The assailants allegedly tied up the servant, looted a significant amount of jewellery and cash from the household, and then fled the scene.
However, the police have found the servant's account of events to be suspicious. Neeraj, who had been working with the Goyal family for approximately nine years, claimed that one of the robbers banged his head against a wall. Investigators, however, did not find any corresponding injury marks on his head, leading to doubts about his statement.
This discrepancy, coupled with the puzzling fact that the robbers killed the elderly woman but spared the servant who could potentially have identified them, prompted the police to take Neeraj into custody. He has been detained for detailed questioning as investigators explore all angles, including the possibility of an inside involvement.
Family Circumstances and Ongoing Investigation
At the time of the tragic incident, Krishna Kumar Goyal was not in the country. He is currently in Muscat, Oman, visiting his daughter. He has been informed of his wife's murder and is expected to return to India soon.
The police have registered a case and are examining multiple lines of inquiry. Forensic teams have scoured the crime scene for evidence, and efforts are underway to identify and track down the perpetrators. The detention of the servant marks a significant development as authorities piece together the sequence of events that led to this brutal crime in a normally quiet, affluent neighborhood of Mohali.
