Artist Shireen Mody Found Dead In Goa, Gardener Suspected Of Crime

Goa-based artist Shireen Mody and her gardener were found dead this Sunday, at Mody's residence in Goa. The 65-year-old artist who hailed from Mumbai is said to have been hit by a zinc rod by her gardener Praful Jana, who hailed from Assam. Mody's daughter Saffron Wiehl and other servants found her body.

Key Takeaways:

• The immediate neighbours say that constant squabble between Mody and her gardener could be heard.
• However, the possibility of double murder was ruled out after further investigation as the police confirmed that there was no squabble between the two. 
• Mody was declared dead at the Goa Medical College while the gardener, who was taken to a local district hospital, was also declared dead.
• According to the police, the CCTV shows the gardener trying to escape from the scene of the crime. So, he supposedly succumbed to his injuries and died on the spot. 
• Mody was allegedly hit by a zinc rod, because of which she died. A case of murder has been registered at the Arjuna Police Station.

According to the DSP Gajanan Prabhudesai, Jana might have panicked after killing Mody and hence tried escaping the crime scene. However, the walls of the compound are too high to have been crossed with ease. After going around for one kilometre, he might have tried scaling the wall, and as a result, fell down.

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No Scuffle Between The Two, Postmortem To Reveal The Cause Of Gardener's Death

“As per the investigation, there was no scuffle between the two and the possibility of the double murder is ruled out.” North Goa Superintendent of Police, Utkrisht Prasoon told Times of India. According to the DSP Gajanan Prabhudesai, Jana might have panicked after killing Mody and hence tried escaping the crime scene. However, the walls of the compound are too high to have been crossed with ease. After going around for one kilometre, he might have tried scaling the wall, and as a result, fell down. One of the neighbours also saw him holding the compound wall. She offered him water but Jana refused. Jana's body was found at an approximate distance of 100 m from Mody's residence. From here, he was shifted to North Goa district hospital at Mapusa and was declared dead.

According to the police, the CCTV also shows the gardener trying to escape from the scene of the crime. So, he supposedly succumbed to his injuries and died on spot.

The DSP told TOI, that the murder took place between 10:30 am and 11:00 am. “The post-mortem will reveal how the gardener died.” he added. Mody originally hails from South Mumbai but had shifted to Goa around three decades ago. There, she had set up Studio Arpora with her art illustrator daughter. Studio Arpora is an art gallery. The gallery is located 20 km from Panaji.

Also according to the police, Jana had called Mody to the storeroom. The storeroom was situated opposite to her house in the same compound. He called her saying that the storeroom needed to be cleaned. There he hit her with a zinc rod. Mody's death took place exactly three years after the death of famous perfumer Monika Ghurde.

Picture Credit: India.com

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