Alcoholic husband smashes woman's head with cylinder

A 48-year-old man was arrested by officials of the Pimpri police station for killing his wife by hitting her on the head with an LPG cylinder while she was asleep.

Officials said the incident occurred in Sanjay Nagar slums in the wee hours of Wednesday. They said the couple along with their three children, two sons and a daughter, had been residing in the area for the past several years.

Gruesome: A constable inspects the cylinder that Bhau Jogdand smashed on his wife Nanda's (inset) head in the wee hours of Wednesday. Pic/Navnath Kaple

While the deceased was identified as Nanda Jogdand (42), police officials booked her husband Bhau under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

"The accused is an alcoholic and used to pester his wife for money. Owing to his drinking habit, Bhau had quit the centring job at a private construction site," Assistant Commissioner of Police Sudhir Chougule said.

Cash-strapped: Bhau Jogdand, who has been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code

He said for the last seven to eight days, Nanda had not given Bhau any money to fuel his habit and this might have
driven him to rage.

"His wife and sons ensured that he doesn't get any money for drinking liquor and used to scold him for his habit. This had angered him recently," Chougule said.

In the wee hours of yesterday, when Nanda was asleep, the accused woke up at 5 am, picked up the LPG cylinder and smashed it on Nanda's head.

"Their son Prakash, who woke up due the noise, was shocked to see his father smashing the LPG cylinder on his mother's head," Chougule said.

He said Bhau confessed to the crime when he was being interrogated.u00a0