In a horrifying crime, a 27-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her husband in Kerala’s Ernakulam district on Wednesday evening.
Sumayya, who used to work as a warden at a private hostel in Palarivattom, was stabbed in broad daylight near her place of work. According to eye-witness statements, her husband Sajeer had engaged in a long conversation with her by the roadside before he stabbed her.
Palarivattom police told TNM that Sajeer stabbed Sumayya below her chest with a knife and fled the scene immediately. By the time people nearby rushed to Sumayya’s help on hearing her screams, Sajeer had managed to flee in an autorickshaw.
Although Sumayya was rushed to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. Police say that she had one stab injury below her chest and had sustained blood loss.
“Even though Sajeer fled the scene, we managed to nab him from a traffic signal, he couldn’t go far. Sajeer suspected that Sumayya had a relationship with another man, which is the motive for the crime,” the SI said.
Sumayya and Sajeer are both natives of Punnapra in Alappuzha district and had been married for 10 years. According to the police, the duo has two children. Eight months ago, following marital discord between the two, Sumayya went to live with her parents.
“Only a week ago, she had come to Palarivattom to work as a hostel warden. Their children continued to live with Sajeer at his house. The couple had filed for divorce at a family court in Alappuzha a few months ago,” police said.
Sajeer has been charged under Section 302 (murder). Palarivattom police is set to produce him in court on Thursday.
This incident comes only days after a husband set his wife ablaze in full public view in the neighbouring Thrissur district. On April 29, Jeethu was set ablaze by her husband Viraj, while she and her father were getting out of a Kudumbashree office. Jeethu succumbed to her burn injuries two days after the incident. Following this, the police nabbed Viraj from a relative’s house in Mumbai, where he had sought refuge after committing the crime.