Man kills wife with sickle over domestic tiff

In a gruesome incident, a 40-year-old man killed his 30-year-old wife with a sickle following a domestic tiff and later tried to commit suicide at their home in the Chaitanya Aagri Koliwada area of Kadamwadi, Kandivali (east) around 11.15 am on Monday. In his attempt to end his life, the man injured his head and was prevented from taking the drastic step by the neighbours. While the doctors declared the woman brought dead, the man was treated for his injury at the nearby Shatabdi hospital. A murder and attempt to suicide case has been registered against the man and further investigation in the case is on.

As per police officers, the man and his wife were identified as Devendra Gajanan Patil and Jaya Devendra Patil respectively. Jaya was Devendra’s second wife. His first wife allegedly committed suicide by consuming some poisonous chemical around one and a half years ago. Devendra has a 13-year-old son and an eight-year-old daughter from his first wife.

An official at Samta Nagar police station said, “Jaya and Devendra, along with the two children, used to reside in the Gagandeep building in Kandivali. Devendra used to work as an auto driver and was an alcoholic. He often used to quarrel with Jaya over petty domestic issues after returning home drunk.

“Late on Sunday night, too, Devendra returned home drunk and a fight broke out between him and Jaya after she reprimanded him for his petty earnings and alcohol addiction.”

The police official added, “Around 11 am on Monday, their daughter went out to play while Jaya was at home with their son when Devendra again indulged in a verbal duel with her. The fight took a serious turn with Jaya threatening to commit suicide if Devendra didn’t stop harassing her.

“After hearing this, Devendra, in a fit of rage, rushed to the kitchen and catching hold of a sickle, attacked and killed Jaya. Their minor son, who witnessed the murder, rushed outside and, crying for help, gathered their neighbours, who rushed to Jaya’s rescue.”