A three-month pregnant woman was strangled to death by her husband in a drunken state at their residence in Asif Nagar here on Saturday, following a quarrel.
After killing 24-year-old K. Shalini, the accused, P. Vijay Kumar, a painter, allegedly sat next to her body for a while, and surrendered before the police. He told them that he had strangled Shalini around 3.30 a.m. after the couple had a fight. Soon after getting information about the murder from a regional newspaper scribe, the Asif Nagar police rushed to the spot and recovered the woman’s body, which was found lying on the floor.
In 2013, Vijay married Shalini, who was his neighbour after they both fell in love, and their families accepted. The couple have three children and she had conceived for the fourth time, said Asif Nagar Assistant Commissioner of Police N. Narsimha Reddy. He said that the couple had frequent altercations and Vijay and his elderly mother used to beat her. The accused, who was a part-time craftsman, was addicted to alcohol.
On Friday afternoon too, Shalini approached the Asif Nagar police complaining about her husband’s behaviour, following which Vijay was summoned at the police station, where the couple were given counselling and let off. “The murder took place hours after they were counselled by our staff,” an officer said.
Based on the complaint lodged by the victim’s mother, who resides in the same locality, a case under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of IPC was invoked against Vijay, while his mother was booked for domestic violence.
