A barber was remanded to custody of Pune police by a local court on Wednesday for killing his second wife and locking her inside their house in Bhawani peth area of the city.
The arrested man was identified as Saleem Shakeel Shaikh (33) while the deceased woman was identified as Sumaiyya Saleem Shaikh (46).
Her body was found on June 18 due to the smell emanating from their house in Sapkal Complex, Bhawani peth area of Pune. The man is suspected to have killed her in the night intermediate of June 13 and June 14. It was the woman’s friends who raised suspicion about the husband.
The two lived along with a 15-year-old sister of the arrested man who finally helped the police nail the man, according to the investigating officers.
“Saleem was married to one woman and had three children with her. One and a half year ago he had a love marriage with the now-deceased woman. While his first wife and children lived in Mundhwa, his second wife lived in Bhawani peth. The now-deceased woman learned about his extra marital affairs which led to fights between them. It was during one of these fights that he strangled her to death and locked the house,” read a statement from Samarth police station.
After having killed her, the man first took the 15-year-old to his relative’s place in Pratapgadh region of Uttar Pradesh. Since then, he was roaming in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, in order to evade arrest, before coming back to Pune, according to the police.
{{/usCountry}}After having killed her, the man first took the 15-year-old to his relative’s place in Pratapgadh region of Uttar Pradesh. Since then, he was roaming in Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and Gujarat, in order to evade arrest, before coming back to Pune, according to the police.
{{/usCountry}}“A friend of the woman had come looking for her as her phone and the accused man’s phone was off too. We learned about the teenager and went to UP and found the girl who used to live with them and narrated the incident to us. Meanwhile, his family in Mundhwa had also fled upon his insistence. When we found them, we told them to come back to Pune and set a trap for him. When he came to Pune to meet his family, we arrested him,” said Police inspector (crime) Ulhas Kadam of Samarth police station who is investigating the case.
A case under Sections 302 (murder) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of Indian Penal Code was registered at Samarth police station.