Man held for trying to kill 14-yr-old daughter, wife, as she seeks divorce

The police have arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly attempting to slit the throat of his wife and 14-year-old daughter

MUMBAI: The police have arrested a 37-year-old man for allegedly attempting to slit the throat of his wife and 14-year-old daughter after learning that his wife had consulted a lawyer about filing for divorce.

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According to the Dahisar police, the accused, identified as Hanumant Sonawala, was arrested based on a complaint filed by his daughter, who claimed he tried to kill them with a blade while they were asleep on Sunday night. He was produced in court and remanded to police custody till Wednesday.

The FIR states that Sonawala works in pest control and is an alcoholic. Neighbours and his daughter said that he would often physically abuse his wife due to his alcohol addiction.

On Saturday, his wife’s birthday, his wife and daughter had gone out for dinner while Sonawala stayed home. When they returned, he had invited relatives over and began threatening his wife claiming that he knew she had visited a lawyer in Nalasopara and wanted to divorce him.

The police said that on Sunday the accused’s wife met the lawyer again to begin the divorce process. When she returned late in the evening, Sonawala grew enraged and the couple got into an argument. His wife told him she was tired of the daily fights and wanted to sell the house and move to Pune, the police said. Around 10 pm, Sonawala left the house, and the mother and daughter went to sleep.

According to the daughter, around 2:15 am on Sunday, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her neck, as if she had been cut. She switched on the light and saw her father sitting next to her mother, holding a blood-soaked blade. She noticed that he had slashed her mother’s stomach and was threatening to kill them both. The daughter then realised her neck was also cut and bleeding. Hearing her screams, neighbours rushed in and managed to pull Sonawala out of the house.

The girl was later admitted to Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali West for treatment, where hospital authorities informed the police of the incident. Based on the daughter’s statement, a case of attempted murder was registered against her father.

“We have arrested the accused after booking him under section 109 (attempt to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and are investigating further,” said a police officer from Dahisar police station.