Pimpri man stabs wife to death over petty dispute

Preparing a tasty dish in haste proved costly for twenty-year-old Surekha Lokhande. Her angry husband hacked her to death on Thursday when he sustained minor burns due to hot oil spill caused while deep frying the vegetable.

Surekha became the third victim who was allegedly killed by their husbands over petty reasons in the past one week. Surekha and her husband Kalu (22) are scrap pickers living in Bharatnagar slum area in Pimpri.

According to the police, Kalu beat his wife black and blue before stabbing her chest with a kitchen knife. Surekha died on the spot.

Their two-and-a-half-year-old son was playing outside and six-month-old daughter was fast asleep inside the house at the time of the incident.

The Pimpri police have arrested Kalu after filing a case of murder against him. With their mother murdered and father in police lock-up, the children are now being attended by the neighbours.

Assistant police inspector Mohan Sawant, who is investigating the case, said, “Surekha had got married to Kalu three years ago. Kalu came home around 10 am on Thursday and asked for food. Surekha, who was busy cooking, asked Kalu to wait. This irked Kalu and the two indulged in a heated argument. That was the time when Surekha was deep frying the vegetable and Kalu suffered minor burns because of the hot oil spill.

A livid Kalu pounced on Surekha and physically harmed her before stabbing her in the chest with a kitchen knife lying nearby. Neighbours, who rushed to the spot after hearing Surekha’s cries, found her writhing in pain and shifted her to Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital (YCMH). However, she was declared brought dead.”

Senior inspector Mohan Vidhate said, “Surekha’s post-mortem report reveals stab injuries on her chest and arms. There are bruises on her back, arms and leg indicating that Surekha was stabbed and beaten up. Kalu will be produced in the court on Friday.”