Elderly woman murdered and jewellery looted by neighbour over ₹500 in Bhopal

A heartbreaking incident has come to light in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, where a neighbour brutally murdered an elderly woman over a dispute of just ₹500 and the greed for jewellery. Following an investigation, the Shahjahanabad police have arrested a woman identified as Rekha alias Rita alias Reet. Police investigation revealed that the accused suffocated the elderly woman by pressing her mouth and nose, and subsequently stole the gold jewellery she was wearing, as well as the gold teeth from her mouth.

According to reports, the deceased has been identified as Kalari Devi, wife of Harichand Prajapati, a resident of Multi A-2, Bajpai Nagar, under the jurisdiction of the Shahjahanabad police station. There are discrepancies in sources regarding Kalari Devi's age; 'The Times of India' states she was 75 years old, while 'Aaj Tak' reports her age as 60 years. On November 6, 2026, when her death was reported from Hamidia Hospital, the police registered a case and began an investigation. A short post-mortem report indicated that the cause of death was airway obstruction and strangulation, based on which the police registered a case of murder and loot and began the search for the unknown accused.

Police investigation revealed that on the day of the incident, the accused Rekha alias Rita alias Reet had gone to the elderly woman's house to demand ₹500. When the woman refused to pay, the accused, in a fit of rage, murdered her. According to the police, the accused woman was in an intoxicated state at the time of the incident. Driven by the lack of money and greed for jewellery, she suffocated the elderly woman by pressing her mouth and nose. After the murder, she fled with the gold jewellery and other valuables from the body.

Given the gravity of the incident, a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed under the direction of Police Commissioner Sanjay Kumar and Additional Police Commissioner Monika Shukla. The team was managed by Zone-3 Deputy Police Commissioner Ayush Gupta, Additional Deputy Police Commissioner Shalini Dixit, and Assistant Police Commissioner Anil Vajpayee. The police had also announced a reward of ₹10,000 for the arrest of the accused. Police questioned people living around the crime scene and collected technical evidence. During this investigation, the role of a woman living directly opposite the deceased's house appeared suspicious. Upon interrogation, she confessed to the crime.

The arrested accused woman has been identified as 45-year-old Rekha alias Rita alias Reet, wife of the late Suresh Sudarkar. Originally a resident of Bhusawal, Maharashtra, she was currently residing at Multi A-1/G-7, Bajpai Nagar, Idgah Hills area, Bhopal. According to 'The Times of India', the police recovered the stolen jewellery from a gutter chamber. According to Aaj Tak, the police have recovered the deceased woman's gold earrings, nose pin, gold teeth, anklets, and cash. Additionally, the clothes, slippers, and mobile phone worn by the accused at the time of the incident have been seized.

The accused woman also has a criminal past. According to the police, a case of kidnapping and rape of a minor girl is registered against her at the Nishatpura police station. Furthermore, a case has been registered against her at the Shahjahanabad police station for using abusive language in public, assault, and issuing death threats. The police have currently taken the accused on two days of police remand, during which other aspects of the case are being investigated in depth.