According to the police, Soklaram Purohit returned home near Saki Naka after midnight on June 7 and found his wife, Maniben, hanging from the ceiling fan.
MUMBAI: A 28-year-old shopkeeper in suburban Mumbai drove around with his wife's body for close to eight hours after she allegedly committed suicide earlier this month.
According to the police, Soklaram Purohit returned home near Saki Naka after midnight on June 7 and found his wife, Maniben, hanging from the ceiling fan.
Soklaram Purohit kept the body in his car and went to a private hospital in Saki Naka where the doctors declared his wife brought dead. But instead of following procedure, he managed to smuggle the body out of the hospital and took it to another hospital in the area, where too she was declared dead on arrival. From here also, Soklaram Purohit took away the body and brought it home, police said.
In the morning, Soklaram Purohit decided to take the body to a community hospital but on the advice of a friend he finally took the body to a government hospital, where doctors informed the police.
"The Saki Naka police had initially registered an accidental death report but later it was registered as an abetment to suicide case. When the woman's body reached Rajawadi hospital the police station was informed. We are investigating based on the suspicions of the victim's relatives," a senior police official told reporters.
The police say they are investigating if it is a case of murder but have registered a case of abetment to suicide against the husband.
"We are investigating why he took so much time to inform the police and we are checking the reasons behind his suspicious behavior," Deputy Commissioner of Police Navin C Reddy told reporters.
The police say they are also waiting for the final post mortem report and viscera report based on which further investigations will be conducted.
"Our investigation has revealed that they had got married five years ago and used to have frequent fights as the couple was childless," a police official said.