Bombay: Bhandup Police arrested a 37-year-old man on Saturday for allegedly murdering his wife by hitting her on the head with a cast-iron cooking pan. The suspect, Basant Saaha, was living with victim Ritadevi Dube, 21, in a public toilet operated by BMC at Runwal car park on Village Road in Bhandup West. They worked there as cleaners and managers.
According to the victim’s sister, Kavitadevi Dube, who is also a complainant in the case, the couple had problems for some time, which usually resulted in verbal arguments. In her statement to the police, she said that Saaha suspected her sister’s fidelity.
“Saaha kept asking his ritadevi not to speak to the man he suspected she was having an affair with, but she remained defiant. Even at the time of the crime, she was on the phone with this man while Saaha kept screaming. Since she wouldn’t listen to him, he used an iron cooking pan from her kitchen area and hit her on the head,” Chief Police Inspector Nitin Unhavane said Sunday.
The incident happened around 1 p.m. on Saturday. Afterwards, Kavitadevi took her sister to a nearby hospital for treatment. Hospital officials informed the police, who recorded Kavitadevi’s statement before filing a formal complaint against Saaha.
“She was taken to the hospital and the doctors started treatment. But as her skull injury was severe and there was profuse bleeding, she could not survive,” added Mr Unhavane.
Saaha was initially arrested under Section 307 (Attempted Murder) but was charged under Section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Criminal Code after the victim’s death.
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