TIRUCHY: An elderly woman was murdered and her jewels were stolen by an unidentified gang in Nagapattinam on Friday.

It is said, S Saroja (67), was residing alone at Keeraikollai area in Nagapattinam after her husband passed away. Her sons have been working in Chennai and Puducherry. On the wee hours of Friday, a gang had reportedly entered the house and attempted to break the almirah.

When Saroja woke up and raised an alarm, the gang strangled her to death and escaped with her chain, ear studs and bangles. In the morning, her elder son Govindaraj, who has been living in Chennai, contacted her over phone.

As she did not respond to the call, the anxious Govindarajan contacted the relatives, who rushed to the house and broke open the doors and found that Saroja was lying dead in the cot.

Soon, they passed on the information to the police who along with the fingerprint experts and sniffer dog rushed to the spot and conducted an inquiry. Nagai DSP Balakrishnan visited the spot and conducted an inquiry.