Palghar:The police have arrested a 31-year-old woman in connection with the murder of a senior citizen couple and their daughter in Maharashtra's Palghar district, an official said on Tuesday. Syaba Begum Ansari, the wife of the prime accused Arif Ansari, was apprehended from Uttar Pradesh on September 15 for the murders that occurred in Nehroli in Wada tehsil last month, inspector Duttaray Kindre of Wada police said.
Bodies of Mukund Bechardas Rathod (75), his wife Kanchan (72) and their daughter Sangeeta (52) were found inside their house at Nehroili in Wada tehsil on August 30. Arif, a former neighbour of the family, was apprehended at Meja village in Uttar Pradesh. He allegedly committed the murders on August 17 in a bid to rob the family.
The official said Arif's wife was arrested after he revealed during interrogation that she knew of his involvement in the murders. "On the day of the crime, Arif returned home with bloodstained clothes and hands. When Syaba questioned him, he admitted to the murders, and she then allegedly helped him enter the crime scene to destroy the evidence," Kindre said.
The couple then fled to a relative's house and later escaped to their hometown, where they reportedly concealed their identities, he said. A probe also revealed that the woman helped her husband sell silver coins he stole from the victims. The coins were melted down and sold to a jeweller in Prayagraj, the official said.
A special police team, including a women's unit, was dispatched to Uttar Pradesh to arrest the Syaba. She has been remanded in police custody till September 21, he said.
