Three people, including her daughter, were arrested on Friday for their alleged involvement in the killing of a 65-year-old woman in northeast Delhi’s Dayalpur area, police said.

According to the police, the main accused, Chintamani (30), the victim’s married daughter, was facing financial difficulties and wanted to sell the house of her mother, Shivkala (65). The victim lived alone. She had three married daughters.

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The murder of Shivkala came to light on the afternoon of September 27, when a PCR call was received at Police Station Dayalpur, police said on Friday.

The woman, a resident of Dayalpur, had been murdered inside her general store-cum bedroom on the ground floor of the two-storey house. Her jewellery seemed intact. There were signs of struggle at the scene of the crime, police said.

During the postmortem examination, the doctor found that the victim was murdered a day before, at an approximate time of around 10:15 pm on September 26. She had 25 sharp/blunt injuries on her head, face, neck, and other parts of her body, a police official said.

During the investigation, the team scanned CCTVs in the area and found a minor boy moving around suspiciously. The minor stated that Chintamani and another accused Ashok Sharma had promised to pay him Rs 2 lakhs to kill Shivkala, North East Delhi Police Deputy Commissioner Joy Tirkey said.

On the fateful day, the minor boy loitered around the area till it was time for Shivkala to close shop. Just before she closed down the shop, he entered and assaulted her with a pair of scissors and a heavy iron rod. He fled from the spot after Shivkala succumbed to her injuries, he said.

Chintamani lived on rent, a few houses away from her mother, Shivkala. She was facing a lot of financial difficulty. She has been married for the past 13 years. Her husband is a tailor. She has an 11-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son. She thought that if she could eliminate her old mother, then she could move into her mother’s house. After eliminating her mother, she planned to sell the house through Ashok Sharma, a property dealer, the police said.

She discussed the matter with Sharma, who agreed to the plan as he would make some money when they sold the house.

Together, they cultivated the minor boy, who worked as a motorcycle mechanic in a nearby shop and lured him by promising him Rs 2 lakhs. They had warned him not to disclose the plan to anyone. On the fateful day, which was Tuesday, the minor boy had his weekly off. They planned and executed the murder on September 26 (Tuesday) evening.

Chintamani and Ashok Sharma have been arrested. The minor boy will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board. The accused will be brought on police remand, police added.

Further investigation into the case is in progress.