Latur, May 28 (PTI) A 32-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly killing a differently-abled senior citizen and his wife during a burglary in Latur district of Maharashtra with police cracking the case within 12 hours of its registration, officials said on Wednesday.
The Local Crime Branch (LCB) has arrested the accused, Pandit Kondiba Ravnkule, a resident of Garsoli village who has a criminal record, they said.
The elderly couple, residing in a farmhouse, was attacked during the burglary on the intervening night of May 25-26 in Garsoli village under Renapur Police Station limits.
When they resisted, the intruder killed the elderly woman by striking her head with a pressure cooker, stone, and bricks, and threw her differently-abled husband into a nearby well after assaulting him, the officials informed.
The motive appeared to be theft as the woman's gold ornaments were stolen by the accused.
The chilling crime came to light on Tuesday (May 27) and a case was promptly registered at the Renapur police station under BNS sections 103(1) - punishment for murder - 309(4) - robbery - and 331(3)(4) - house-trespass or house-breaking - against an unidentified assailant.
Under the direct instructions of Superintendent of Police Somay Munde and Additional SP Ajay Deore, a team from the LCB led by Inspector Sanjeevan Mirkale was dispatched to the scene.
The team tapped informants and launched an investigation using scientific methods, finally zeroing in on a suspect from the same village, Ravnkule.
Within just 12 hours of the case being registered, Ravnkule was apprehended from his residence at around 9 pm on Tuesday, said the officials.
During interrogation, he confessed to the crime, citing long-standing resentment against the elderly woman, who frequently accused him of being a thief. Driven by this grudge and the intention to steal, he committed the murders and fled with the stolen gold, they said.
Further investigations revealed the accused has a history of theft-related offences.