A 34-year-old Mumbai’s Antop Hill resident was arrested on Friday for allegedly murdering his wife in April because she could not bear a child. The accused, Naresh Sabharwal, tried to portray the murder as a case of suicide, but the victim’s post-mortem report revealed that she was strangled to death. After murdering his wife Supriya, 34, Sabharwal hung her body from the ceiling fan.

The couple had been married since 2010. On April 7, at 8.15pm, Supriya’s body was found hanging from the ceiling fan at the couple’s home in Raval Camp. The police filed a case of accidental death on the basis of Sabharwal’s statements. Senior police inspector Rajiv Whaval said, “The accused told us that on April 7, the couple had an argument, after which, the victim locked herself in their bedroom. When she didn’t come out in a long time, he broke the door open and found her body hanging from the ceiling fan.” However, the police found inconsistencies in Sabharwal’s statements during probe.

On April 27, Supriya’s brother, Deepak Pandey, approached the police stating that she took the step because the couple had frequent arguments between them. “We then filed a case of abetment to suicide against the accused but didn’t arrest him as we were waiting for the post-mortem report,” said police inspector S Bhapkar.

On Friday, the post-mortem report revealed that there was no rope mark on Supriya’s neck and that she was strangled to death, following which, the police arrested Sabharwal.

First Published: May 19, 2019 12:58 IST