Thane: 22-year-old killed, valuables worth Rs 1.6 lakh stolen

A 22-year-old girl was found murdered in her flat in Kalyan on Thursday morning and a high-end phone and jewellery worth Rs 1.6 lakh were missing. The police have registered a case of murder and robbery against an unidentified person.

A robbery had recently been averted in the Sai Dham Society

According to the police, Priya Darvade, a resident of Sai Dham Society in Khadakpada area of Kalyan, was a qualified mechanical engineer and had appeared for the Maharashtra Public Service Commission examination. She lived with her brother Vivek and sister-in-law Snehal.

Priya Darvade

The murder came to light when Vivek heard someone shout ‘chor, chor' (thief, thief) from the flat below theirs. "Vivek, in his statement to the police, said he and his wife were sleeping in the bedroom, while Priya was in the hall. Hearing someone scream, he shouted back, saying he was coming to help. But then he found that his bedroom door was locked from the outside. He phoned his neighbours, who then broke into his apartment and opened the door. Vivek then found his sister lying dead in the hall," a senior police official said. He added, "Her throat was slit and her clothes torn. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead. Her body has been sent for a post-mortem examination. The police found jewellery and a high-end phone missing."

Residents of the building said they saw a man wearing shorts run out of the building. Gabrao Gore, senior police inspector, told mid-day, "During preliminary investigations, we found that the girl's mouth was tied with a cloth and a phone and jewellery worth R1.6 lakh was missing. We suspect it to be a case of robbery."

Recently, a robbery had been averted in this building when alert residents had chased robbers away by pelting stones at them. Also, a week ago, the building's watchman, Deepak Bhoir, was found dead nearby.