“We have sent the body for a post-mortem. We are interrogating other family members. Nothing can be said right now. It seems that the woman had died over a week back,” said Rajesh Subarno, deputy commissioner of police (south).

According to the police, the neighbours of Suman Kharda felt stench coming out of the apartment this morning. They knocked the door but did not get any response, leading them to inform the police. When the police forced open the door, they found the decomposed body of Suman in her bedroom. They also found her daughter Ambika in the

adjoining room.

The police are interrogating Suman’s estranged husband Ashok, who stays at an adjacent apartment. Ashok told police that the family has a history of mental illness and Suman was not keeping well for the past few months. Ashok visited her a fortnight ago and found her sick.

The police also questioned Ambika. But there were discrepancies in her statement. She said that she knew of her mother’s illness and stayed in the bed for the entire day.