2-year-old girl, mom brutally murdered

Mumbai: A woman and her two-year-old daughter were found brutally murdered in their Mahim flat by her neighbours on Thursday. The prompt action of the building’s residents prevented another untoward incident as the bodies were on fire and somebody had left open the valves of the cooking stove.

The Shahu Nagar police has registered a case of murder against an unknown person and is questioning the husband of the deceased. The police is also probing the case from different angles.

The police said that on Thursday morning the residents of the 10th floor of the Diamond Apartment realised that a smell had been emanating from the house of Sayed Ilias Hussain. On receiving no response to the doorbell and knocks, the neighbours broke open the door. They saw Ilias’s wife Tehseen (32) and daughter, Aaliya, lying in a pool of blood and their bodies were on fire. The neighbours immediately doused the flames. Later, they found that the valve of the gas stove had been left open.

According to the Shahu Nagar police, a team reached the spot and rushed the woman and child to Sion Hospital, where they were declared brought dead. As per the initial examination of the bodies, their throats were slit.

Ilias runs a zari (embroidery) workshop in Dongri and visits it every Thursday. Apparently, Ilias was at his workshop at the time of the incident and he reached his home after neighbours informed him about the incident.

According to police, Tehseen’s mother was the last person to speak to her, around 10 am. According to Tehseen’s mother’s statement, while on she was on the phone with her daughter, someone rang the doorbell and Tehseen told her that it could be her Ilias so she disconnected the phone.

According to the officers investigating the case, the police learnt that the couple’s relationship had soured after Ilias allegedly got closer to another woman in the family.

The police are examining recordings of CCTV cameras installed in the building’s surrounding.