MUMBAI : A police constable’s wife and son were arrested on Wednesday for allegedly assaulting him during a domestic dispute and leaving him injured, leading to his slow death. An accidental death report was initially filed, but after the post-mortem reports revealed an unnatural death and his relatives also suspected that the mother-son duo had killed him, a case was registered against them for culpable homicide not amounting to murder.
According to the police, the incident occurred on September 9, when Pravin Suryawanshi, 52, a constable attached to Shivaji Nagar police station, was found dead at police quarters in Pratiksha Nagar in Sion. Subsequently, an accidental death report was registered and the police began an inquiry into the matter.
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During the probe, Pravin’s brother and other relatives claimed that his death was not accidental but the result of a long-standing financial dispute with his wife, Smita Suryawanshi, 42, and son, Pratik, 22. The deceased constable’s post-mortem reports revealed that he had died an unnatural death due to haemorrhage and shock caused by 38 injuries on his body.
“Further investigation had revealed that on the day the constable died, his wife and son confronted him outside Shivaji Nagar police station and after they went home, they assaulted him,” said a police officer.
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The police said that Pravin had transferred his properties in Nashik and Kalyan to his relatives and also gave his ATM card to his brother for his expenses, which might have angered his wife and son. “They attacked him and pushed him against the window panel, due to which the glass broke and caused multiple deep cuts,” the officer added.
Following this, they left the place without giving him any medical assistance, he said, adding that hours later, some of his relatives went to his home and found him gravely injured. They rushed him to Sion Hospital, where he was declared dead. The doctors told the police that Pravin had deep cuts on his right hand and had died due to loss of blood, adding that he could have survived if he had been brought in for treatment in time. Subsequently, the police arrested Smita and Pratik on Wednesday.