Saki Naka Police arrested a 31-year-old man, Masaq Shaikh, for allegedly abetting his wife's suicide, who hanged herself from a ceiling fan on April 25. In a statement given by the deceased woman's father, he said that the accused tortured and abused his daughter after she gave birth to a baby girl and has been suspecting her of having an affair, leading to mental and physical abuse. Shaikh has been booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code for abetting suicide, assault, criminal intimidation, domestic violence and dowry
Police said that the couple had tied the knot in 2019 and were happily married, followed by the woman getting pregnant months later and in August was hospitalized in a civic-run hospital in Marol, only to be later shifted to KEM Hospital due to a few complications. She was soon discharged and went to stay at her maiden home to rest. In November last year, she gave birth to a healthy baby girl, which is when trouble ensued in the couple's paradise, claimed the complainant.
The woman's father said in her complaint that his son-in-law, Shaikh, was limiting her contacts and not allowing her to talk to others on phone, suspecting she was having an illicit affair. The woman had confided in her cousin, claiming that Shaikh would assault her in an inebriated state and threaten to leave her if she did not get money from her parents. "In the first week of March, Shaikh had demanded ₹20,000 from my son to run household errands as they had separated from the family, but my son was unable to help them financially. In the morning of March 25, Shaikh had called my niece, claiming that my daughter was having an illicit affair with one of her relatives, to which she ensured to have a conversation with the cousin," the father said in his complaint.
Within an hour, however, Shaikh called the same cousin and informed that his wife had died by suicide after she hanged herself. She was immediately rushed to civic-run Rajawadi Hospital, where she was declared brought dead due to asphyxiation. The father then approached Saki Naka Police and lodged a complaint against the son-in-law, Masaq Shaikh for abetting his daughter's suicide over suspicion, domestic violence and indecent behaviour, said police inspector Budhan Sawant. Police immediately arrested Shaikh on the basis of statements given by the woman's family and are investigating the matter further.
