A 29-year-old man here allegedly strangulated his wife to death as she refused to allow him to marry another woman over his desperation to have a male child, police said on Tuesday.
Kunal Sonak Khadke and his wife Indu (28) lived in Bothra village of Sahapur taluka in Thane district and the couple have three daughters. Kunal desired a son and hence wanted to marry another woman, Kasara police station inspector Pradip Kasbe said.
As Indu opposed his wish to remarry, Kunal plotted the crime. On Sunday night, he took his wife on a bike towards a river and allegedly strangulated her to death. He then threw the body on the road, to make it appear that she died in an accident.
The police last night registered an offence against the accused based on a complaint by the deceased's father. Based on the complaint, the accused was arrested this morning and booked under sections 302 (murder), 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the IPC, police added.