The Vashi police arrested a sub-inspector attached to Wagle Estate police station for abetting his wife’s suicide and harassing her for dowry.
Atish Baburao Mhetre (30) married Jyoti (23), who was from Sangli, on February 19, 2018. “A month after their marriage, Jyoti learnt that her husband had some affairs and would also chat with multiple women. When she told her mother-in-law about the same, she told Jyoti that he was a man and could do such things. She also asked her to ignore it,” Mhetre’s brother, Chetankumar Mali, said.
He said Jyoti was emotionally drained as her mother-in-law would taunt her every time she would ask her husband to end his affairs. Hence she went back to her home in Sangli. Since her husband did not call her back, Jyoti’s family reached out to his family to discuss the issue. “Her in-laws came and took her back, assuring us that they would speak to Mr. Mhetre,” Mr. Mali said.
On May 20, Mr. Mhetre tried to throttle his wife during a fight, after which she went to her other brother Sachin’s house in Pune. “She went there to save her life. Later, both families met at Solapur and Mr. Mhetre assured us that he would mend his ways, However, his behaviour remained the same, and when Jyoti told her in-laws, they threatened her not to defame her husband. She was mentally tortured,” Mr. Mali said.
At 5 a.m. on Thursday, Mr. Mali received a call from the Vashi police, who told him that Jyoti had committed suicide. On reaching the spot, the police found the husband with the body. “He claimed that he tried to revive her by giving her CPR but we suspect he staged the suicide. Being a police officer himself, he would know all the loopholes,” Mr. Mali said.
The Vashi police, however, say it is a suicide. “We have verified with the neighbours, and prima facie, there has been no foul play,” senior police inspector Anil Deshmukh said.
The police have booked Mr. Mhetre, his parents and brother for abetting suicide, but only Mr. Mhetre has been arrested. He was produced before the court on Friday and has been remanded in police custody till Monday. The couple has an eight-month-old baby boy.
