MUMBAI: A 39-year-old man from Malad was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting his live-in partner and forcing her to swallow a strip of crocin tablets, and attempting to strangle his live-in partner’s three-year-old son with an electrical cord, following a domestic dispute.
According to the police, the accused, Siddharth Patel, and the 23-year-old complainant met last year, after she had parted ways with her husband. A month ago, the woman and her son moved into Patel’s Malad flat on the condition that she completely cut off communication with her estranged husband.
However, she had been in touch with her ex-husband, who lives in Mira Road, to discuss matters related to their child. This, according to the police, angered Patel. Upon learning that she had been meeting him regularly, he had objected and asked her to sever all ties if she wanted to stay with him, to which she had agreed.
“On Wednesday, when Patel got to know that she had visited her ex-husband without his notice, he confronted her. He felt betrayed and, in a fit of rage, assaulted her and forced her to swallow an entire strip of crocin tablets,” said a police officer.
In her statement, the woman told the police that after assaulting her, Patel turned to her son. “He tied an extension cord around her son’s neck, strangling him. When she tried to stop him from killing the child, he hit her and pushed her away, after which she dialed the police control room number while screaming for help,” the officer said.
Hearing her voice, the neighbours rushed inside their house and tried to control Patel, a few minutes after which the police arrived and arrested him. Both the mother and the son were then rushed to Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar (Shatabdi) Hospital in Kandivali, where they were admitted and are undergoing treatment.
“The accused has been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and is currently in police custody. Further action will be taken after the woman’s detailed statement is recorded once she is discharged,” said senior police inspector Shailendra Nagarkar of Malwani police station.