South 24 Paragnas, 11 March (H.S.): A man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife by slitting her throat in West Bengal’s Basanti area in South 24 Parganas district, police said on Wednesday.

The deceased has been identified as 36-year-old Bithika Shasmal. The accused, her husband Bapan Shasmal, had fled after the incident but was arrested from the New Town area on Wednesday morning, the police said.

According to police sources, the couple lived in the Makalpara area of Basanti. Bapan had married Bithika, a resident of Gosaba, around 15 years ago and they have a daughter.

The police said Bithika had been working with a loan-providing organisation for the past few years. The accused allegedly suspected her of having an extramarital relationship and often objected to her interactions with colleagues, which led to frequent disputes between the couple.

Family members said that following repeated quarrels, Bithika had recently started staying at her sister’s house along with her daughter.

On Tuesday night, Bapan allegedly went to the house and stayed in the same room with his wife. He is accused of attacking her with a sharp weapon late at night, slitting her throat and inflicting multiple injuries before fleeing the spot on a motorcycle.

Family members found Bithika lying in a pool of blood inside the room and informed the police.

The police reached the spot, recovered the body and sent it for post-mortem examination. An investigation into the incident is underway and the accused will be produced before a court, police added.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Priyanka Pandey