BANGALORE: A 58-year-old homemaker, who was alone at her duplex home in Telecom Layout of Sunkadakatte off Magadi Road in West Bangalore, was found dead on Saturday morning. She was found gagged with her hands and legs tied.

The deceased, Revathi Balasubramaniam, was a former BSNL employee who opted for voluntary retirement a year ago. Her husband Balasubramaniam told police that no one else lived with the couple. At 9am, Balasubramaniam left for work.

"When I was on my way to the office, I received a call from my wife who said four persons had come for gardening work. I asked her to go ahead and hung up. When I wanted to check on her later and called up, there was no response," Balasubramaniam told police.

Around noon, the couple's maid, Lakshmi, arrived and found the front door wide open. When she walked in, she found Revathi's body on the staircase. "I found her hands and legs tied and she was gagged with clothes stuffed in her mouth," Lakshmi told police.

Police said the culprits gagged her before robbing her. Revathi's mangalsutra was missing but all other jewellery were intact. "There were no injuries on the body and she might have choked to death as she was gagged," police said.

"We are hunting for the culprits. We have lined several people up for questioning and we hope to crack the case soonDetails of the investigation process cannot be revealed," said DCP (West) Labu Ram.