The duo, along with a third, had earlier carried out painting work at the house of the couple.
According to the Bazarpeth police, one of the accused was inspired to commit the act by an episode of the crime series — Crime Patrol.
The 24-year-old victim, Khushboo Paresh Mehta, was alone at her house in Manjula palace, Aadharwadi chowk Kalyan (West). Her husband, Paresh Mehta, who works with a jeweller in Ghatkopar, had gone to work. In the afternoon, the three accused knocked on the door of the victim and told her that they were carrying paintwork in a nearby flat, said a police officer.
“As they had done the painting in Mehta’s flat a year ago, they were here to repair any patches that had appeared, free-of-cost.”
The victim called up her husband to confirm and he told her to call them over. However, the duo convinced her to let them in as they would take five minutes and they might not get time later.
“After entering, they asked her for water and when she went into the kitchen, one of them allegedly strangulated her with a wire.”
When the victim did not answer calls for a long time, her mother, who lives close by, reached her daughter’s house, broke open the door, and found her in a pool of blood. On inquiry, her husband told them that the painters, Abdul Ansari, Mohammad Siddiqui and Robbin Anthony, all residents of Ambernath, had come for patch work.
“We have picked up Ansari and Siddiqui. Ansari’s wife has said that he diligently followed Crime Patrol,” said Ravindra Tayde, PI, Bazaarpeth police station. A manhunt is on for Robbin Anthony who is absconding.
