Woman, 79, strangled to death in Gurgaon heist

A 79-year-old woman was strangled to death by four people working as painters in her house in Gurgaon, Delhi's well-known suburb in Haryana, police said Sunday.

Jasbir Kaur, a retired Delhi government bureaucrat, and her husband Manmohan Singh Lamba were attacked by the four assailants in their DLF Phase 2 house on Saturday night, a police officer said.

The couple, whose children live abroad, had hired the workers a few days ago to paint their house on the recommendation of their maid Deepa.

"On Saturday, they kept working till 9 p.m. and left the house after the couple raised objection. However, they returned after some time and tide up the couple in a room. They strangled Jasbir Kaur after looting valuables from the house," DLF Phase 2 police station chief Vikas Kaushik told IANS.

The husband has been admitted to a private hospital and his condition is stated to be stable.

"A search is on for the maid, her husband Kishan and three others," the officer said, adding that the maid's police verification was not done.