Man comes from Kolkata to Bengaluru, murders estranged wife; son survives attack

A Kolkata man came down to Bengaluru on Monday and fatally stabbed his estranged wife because she was living with a neighbour. He didn’t stop there and went on to stab his toddler son but the child survived.

The horrific crime unfolded in Afzal Layout, Saraipalya, in northeastern Bengaluru, around Monday midnight. Police have arrested the suspect.

Sheikh Sohel and Tabsen Baby, both from Kolkata, got married 14 years ago. They moved to Bengaluru in 2013 and rented a place near KG Halli. Sohel worked as a tailor while Tabsen stayed at home. Differences cropped up between them because Sohel often came home drunk and quarrelled with her. Tabsen vowed to go to her parents’ home but this had the opposite effect on Sohel. He said he would go instead and went back to Kolkata.

Tabsen stayed back in Bengaluru with her son, Nayeem, who is now two-and-a-half years old. It has been alleged that Tabsen had an affair with a neighbour named Syed Nadeem and moved in with him. Her family knew about this, and her younger sister Gulshan Begum had come to see her from Hyderabad.

Sohel also learnt about Tabsen’s affair. He came down to Bengaluru on Monday and called her up. He said he was coming to see her. Drunk, he met her between 11 pm and midnight and was enraged that she was living with another man. He pulled a knife and poked it into her neck. He then pounced on his son Nayeem and stabbed him in the back. Gulshan watched all this in horror.

The child was rushed to hospital and his condition is stable. Police tracked down Sohel and arrested him for murder and attempted murder. Tabsen’s body has been sent to Ambedkar hospital for post-mortem.