Couple murdered in their home

by two girls.

The girls, aged 14 and 18, were questioned by police anxious to

discover a connection between the crimes, all apparently carried out by

the same man.

The killings are the latest in a series of 10 violent deaths in the

area over the past five years.

Police said the girls were abducted at knifepoint from outside a

Chinese fish and chip shop in Cromwell Road, Hounslow, London, on Monday

night, taken to at least two addresses in the area, and subjected to

serious sexual assaults.

Witnesses said the girls seemed happy as they loitered in the Silver

Fish Bar moments before they were abducted.

The man took them to a one-bedroomed flat in Benson Close, Hounslow,

where the mutilated bodies of the murdered couple were later found dead

from multiple stab wounds.

The couple, Madhavji Ambasna, 82, and his wife Raliat, 73, may have

already been stabbed to death in their flat as the girls were again

sexually assaulted, then tied up, and left terrified.

Police said one girl escaped and contacted a caretaker. He released

the other girl and then saw the bloodstained bodies of the couple in

another room. The police were called at about 11pm.

Detective Superintendent Roland Heming, leading the police inquiry,

said there was no apparent connection between the girls and the murdered

couple and it was not clear if they saw the bodies.

''It's a bizarre case because we can't find any connection between the

white girls and this Asian couple. It's a mystery,'' he said.

It was hoped that the girls, who had been sent home to rest, would

clarify the sequence of events.

Police were also hunting the murder weapon -- ''a sharp bladed

instrument''.

The two addresses where the girls were taken, both within a 500-yard

radius of the murder scene, were also being examined.

He said there was no indication that the incident was racially

motivated or that anything had been taken from the Benson Close flat.

The killer got past an intercom system to gain entry to the block of

flats.

Friends of Mr and Mrs Ambasna, who were originally from India and also

lived in Kenya before coming to Britain more than 20 years ago, later

arrived at the flat to pay their respects.

One of the couple's two daughters, Inila, who lives nearby, was too

shocked to speak to reporters.

A family spokesman said: ''We are all horrified at this. We cannot

understand why this should happen.''

The couple, who wore traditional dress, were both frail. They went to

worship whenever their health allowed, friends said.

Mr Ambasna suffered ill health from his kidneys and heart and his wife

found it difficult to go out because of arthritis.

A close friend said burglars would not have had to use much violence.

''They would have willingly handed over whatever they wanted,''

Underground manager Jay Pabari said.

Two men were being questioned last night at Hounslow police station in

connection with the incidents. Mr Heming said: ''There is a main suspect

at Hounslow police station.''