Man murders wife in Navi Mumbai home, surrenders to police

A bar owner in Navi Mumbai’s Kopar Khairane was arrested on Tuesday evening for beating his wife with an iron rod and killing her

A bar owner in Navi Mumbai’s Kopar Khairane was arrested on Tuesday evening for beating his wife with an iron rod and killing her, while their son was sleeping in the next room. He then locked up their home — in a housing complex in sector 12 — and surrendered to the police.

The police take away the body of the woman murdered inside her flat by her husband.(Bachchan Kumar)

The police said Dharma Bomamma Gowda, 38, killed his wife Rekha, 32, as he suspected her of having an affair.

The couple has two children.

“Gowda first dropped their daughter to school in the morning, came back home and then killed his wife,” an officer part of the investigation said.

The police said Gowda surrendered to a crime branch official, after which the police entered the house and found the body.

“After we got information about the crime, we got the flat opened and found the woman lying dead in the living room,” said Shivaji Aute, senior police inspector, Kopar Khairane police station. “We have arrested Gowda. He told us that his wife was having an affair and that this had led to an argument between them in the morning.” The police said Rekha’s hair been cut too and there were cuts near her ear.

The police, however, said they were finding it difficult to piece together the sequence of events, as the couple’s neighbours refused to come forward as witnesses, saying they knew little about the family. An initial investigation showed the children had gone to a relative’s house after school, and had not come back home.

With no witnesses coming forward, the police had to call social workers from outside before they could register the panchnama. A friend who was at the civic hospital where Rekha’s post-mortem was being done said the couple seemed happy. “I have no idea what transpired that led to this murder.” One of the residents said he saw Gowda take his daughter to school in the morning, but refused to speak any further.Gowda reportedly owns at least three bars in Panvel, Kopar Khairane and Airoli, and a few lodges in Vashi and outside Navi Mumbai.