CHENNAI: A five-month pregnant woman was allegedly strangled to death by her husband, a Home Guard personnel, following a quarrel over the paternity of their unborn child at Palayasivaram in Kancheepuram on Tuesday.
Police said the victim Sonia (28) and the accused Somasundaram (28) had frequent quarrels since they got married six months ago. In the early hours of Tuesday, the accused fought with his wife, claiming that the unborn child was not his, and strangled Sonia to death, police said.
When Sonia’s parents were unable to reach her over the phone, they went to the house and found her dead. They alerted the Salavakkam police, who recovered the body and sent it to the Chengalpattu Government Hospital for postmortem. A case was registered under Section 302 (murder) of the BNS.
Sources said Somasundaram was arrested within three hours of the incident. He allegedly told officers that he has a medical condition that prevents him from fathering a child, leading him to suspect his wife. As the death occurred within seven years of marriage, an inquiry by the Revenue Divisional Officer, Kancheepuram, has also been initiated as mandated under law. Based on the outcome of the inquiry, additional sections may be invoked.