57-year-old secretary of Palghar 'patpedhi' office killed

Victim Sadhna Chaudhary lived in the Satpati neighbourhood of Palghar. Pic/Hanif Patel

A 57-year-old woman was found murdered in the office of a credit cooperative in Palghar on Saturday night. Victim Sadhna Chaudhary was the secretary there, said the police, who are yet to establish the motive for the crime.

The murder came to light after Chaudhary did not return home from ‘Shree Ashtavinayak Patpedhi' at Om Shanti Devi Apartment in Shukla Compound. Her housemates called on her phone but did not get any response. They then asked a person who lives in front of the patpedhi office to check on her.

The person, the police said, found Chaudhary's body in a pool of blood inside her office. An officer from Palghar police said she had a deep head injury. The body was sent for an autopsy.

The police are trying to ascertain if Chaudhary, who lived in Satpati area, was killed during a robbery bid or for some other reason, said the officer.