THANE: Inspired by crime serials, a Mumbra man allegedly strangled his wife last week and tried to pass it off as death due to a gas leak to wipe out evidence and show it as an accident due to a blast.
Police arrested Shahnawaz Saifi for allegedly murdering his wife Sadaf (22). The couple has a three-year-old daughter. Madhukar Kad, senior inspector of Mumbra police station, said, “Early on Wednesday, he strangled his wife, tried to burn her body and boarded a train to Moradabad with his daughter.”
“The victim’s father tried calling her on the phone. He informed his kin to check their residence. When they reached the place, they found the body of the woman and their daughter was missing, while the gas had spread across the the apartment,” Kad added.
Police said the accused, a welder, met the victim online, after which they fell in love and married. But their lifestyles did not match and they quarrelled frequently as he did not like her working, said the officer. She was adamant about working, which triggered off his rage, so he decided to kill her after watching crime serials online. Initially, he strangled her and burned parts of her body. He then let the gas cylinder leak but her kin reached the spot and the blast did not trigger off, the officer told TOI.
The accused was found on a train at Itarsi station with the help of RPF and was brought back and arrested.
