Rajkot: A 66-year-old retired PGVCL employee who was living alone was murdered inside his house on Parekhbag Road in Lalpur, Jamnagar district, on the evening of Oct 12.Mansukh Vachhani suffered five blows to the head from a blunt object. As the house was ransacked with belongings scattered, police suspect he was killed during a robbery.The crime was discovered around 8pm when Gopal Makadiya, who runs an eatery opposite Vachhani’s residence, alerted the victim’s younger brother, Mahendra. Makadiya noticed that the front door of the house had remained open since the afternoon, the lights were turned off and Vachhani had not been seen through the day.On entering the premises and turning on the lights, Mahendra and Makadiya found the first room on the upper floor in disarray. Mansukh was found lying unresponsive on a sofa, covered with a bedsheet, bloodied from head wounds.According to the complaint filed by Mahendra, Vachhani lived by himself in Lalpur while his wife and son live in Ahmedabad. The family said Vachhani typically kept cash at home and had recently withdrawn money from the bank. Neither the cash nor any jewellery could be located during an initial inspection.Police are determining the exact value of items stolen.Mahendra named a domestic worker, Sheetal Gamara, who previously used to clean the house, and her associate, Akshay Moyda, as suspects. Days earlier, the deceased had reportedly confided in his brother that the Gamara and Moyda had extorted money from him under the threat of framing him in a false case.Based on the brother’s complaint, Lalpur police registered a case against Gamara, Moyda and an unidentified accomplice.Police officials said while robbery appears to be a primary line of inquiry, the exact motive and the involvement of the named individuals will be established as the investigation progresses.
