A man was recently booked by Uran police for strangling his 25-year-old wife, three months after he tried to pass off the crime as suicide. The accusedhad admitted his wife to a hospital in August, claiming she had slipped and fallen at home. She died during treatment on September 12.
The victim, Puja Sargar, was staying with Shankar, 28, a truck driver. They have two children, aged four and two, said police.
On August 18, Shankar brought his unconscious wife to MGM Hospital in Kamothe, claiming she had slipped and injured herself . Later, he called Puja’s mother in Sangli and told her that they had fought and Puja tried to hang herself.
On September 12, Puja succumbed to her injuries during treatment. Autopsy reports stated the cause of death as “septicemia with bilateral lobar pneumonia with evidence of under-scalp hematoma in an alleged case of physical assault and attempted throttling.” Police sources said that when they contacted Puja’s family in Sangli and told them about the murder, they were reluctant to press charges as there will be no one to look after the children if Shankar was arrested. “We registered a suo motu case on Saturday and he has been absconding since then. Investigation revealed that he strangled her during a fight and then tried to pass it off as suicide,” said Atul Aher, inspector at Uran police station.