The incident was reported from Vikaspuri and the deceased has been identified as Joginder Kaur. She was living alone in her first floor flat while her nephew lives on the ground floor, police said.
A senior police official said the incident came to light at around 4 AM when her nephew Gurbak Singh woke up and tried to open his ground floor residence.
"He found that the common entrance to the flat was locked from outside. He then went to another door and that too was found locked.
"He called Kaur and as she did not respond, he called Gagandeep Singh who is residing on the second floor. He too found that the main door of his flat was locked from outside," the official said.
Gurbak Singh then somehow managed to get out and unlock the common entrance. He unlocked his own flat and went upstairs wher he saw that the door of Kaur's flat was open.
"He then unlocked Gagandeep's flat and both went to Kaur's flat. They found the house ransacked. In the bedroom, they found Kaur lying unconscious," the official said, adding the victim had been smothered to death.
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Kaur has three children -- the elder son and his family reside in Uttam Nagar while a daughter and younger son are settled in London.
The official said they are investigating all angles.
"A mobile phone is missing. It could be a case or robbery but now we are not ruling out any angle," the official said.