Salem:
A three-member gang broke into a house near Salem and inflicted head injuries on a 70-year-old woman resulting in her death before decamping with a gold chain, police said today.
Police said the woman, who was staying with her 72-year-old brother-in-law, gave the gangsters keys to the bureau and other rooms when they broke in last night but when they did not find anything, they allegedly assaulted her and made off with the chain weighing two sovereigns.
Before fleeing, they tied the old man to a chair with a dhothi, police said.
The matter came to light when the deceased woman's daughter, residing some 15 kilometres away, called her over telephone and when there was no response, contacted the neighbours.
The locals found the woman dead and the man tied up.
The body has been sent for autopsy, police said.