Property dealer held in German woman's murder

     Pune: The police on Sunday arrested a real estate agent for the murder of an elderly German woman, Gudrun Corvinus, whose beheaded body was found in her home in Pune's posh Koregaon Park area. .Police said the lure of her two flats in Liberty Apartments in the IT hub of Pune, one of which she occupied, was the reason behind the cruel beheading. "Upon contacting various estate agents, we zeroed upon one, Ittilaque Faqir Mohammed Sheikh who had apparently approached her for the purchase of her flat and upon interrogation, he confessed to the crime of murdering the lady. Further investigations are on," said Anant Shinde, Police Commissioner of Pune.

   Sheikh was among the many estate agents, who had approached the archaeologist, but an injury on his left arm and his inability to establish his whereabouts on the day of murder led the police to suspect him and interrogate further. Gudrun Corvinus, 72, was an archaeologist who lived in Pune - about 220 kilometres south of the financial hub of Mumbai -- for several years, a police spokesman said. Corvinus was looking to sell her two apartments in the city, and was approached by the agent, who tried to force her into signing blank documents, police said. When she resisted, the man stabbed and then beheaded her. The accused confessed to the murder and the police claim to have recovered the head from under a bridge about 10-12 km from the place of murder.

   Police entered Corvinus's home late on Saturday after a friend of the murdered woman lodged a complaint when she did not hear from her for several days. Corvinus' friend Wadia was constantly trying to get in touch with her but on not getting any response from her she got worried and informed police. "One police official went with him (Wadia) to her (Gudarun Corvinus) house and after entering the house, she was found murdered. Her body was lying in the bathroom and bloodstains were found in the hall, bathroom as well as other places. The body was beheaded. It has been sent for the post mortem," said Assistant Commissioner of Police, PR Patne. "This incident seems to have happened on about January 1 or 2, and as per our assessment the motive seems to be in an attempt to acquire the ownership of the flat owned by the lady, " Mahendra Pardesi, the Police station in charge of the Bund garden Police station had said earlier. The accused Sheikh was a real estate agent and also a dealer in second-hand electronics goods, police said. He was found to be in possession of Corvinus's television set and personal computer at the time of his arrest.

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