Man kills wife fearing for her upkeep after his death

Amalesh Ray, a former employee of the ITC and a patient of chronic bronchitis, cut off the veins of his 73-year-old wife Minati Ray in the wrist and neck with a blade at around 10 last night.

The police said today the motivation for the gruesome act was Amalesh's concern over who would look after his wife, who also had been suffering from an ailment, in the event of his death as there was nobody else in his family to do that.

The couple's only daughter had been killed 10 years ago in an accident, the officer-in-charge of Khardah police station under which Peerless Nagar falls, Prabir Sanyal, said.

The police arrested Amalesh, but admitted him to a local hospital as he was extremely ill and has been put on oxygen.

Local people said Amalesh had been suffering from acute depression being unable to come to grips with the uncertain future of his wife, which he used to often express before them.

The OC ruled out any chance of a sudden financial problem hitting the family as gold ornaments amounting to 110 grams and Rs 20,000 were recovered from the home. Besides, documents of a bank deposit of Rs 1,20,000 were also found.