Navi Mumbai man tries pressuring woman into marriage through blackmail; strangles her after argument

The man had threatened to circulate her private photos to her relatives and had recently sent some pictures to her mother and sister, threatening her as well.

Thane: Days after a 35-year-old woman was found dead at a lodge in Turbhe area of Navi Mumbai, the police have arrested a man, who was in a relationship with her, for allegedly strangling her to death, an official said on Tuesday.

The woman's body was found on January 9, he said, adding that the accused, Soheb Kalam Sheikh (24), a resident of Saki Naka in Mumbai, on Saturday.

"In the preliminary investigation, the police found that the victim and the accused were in a relationship. Sheikh wanted to marry her and put pressure on her. He threatened the woman that he would circulate her private photos to her relatives. Recently, he even sent some photos to her mother and sister, and blackmailed her," the police official said.

On January 8, Sheikh and the woman went to a lodge, where a heated argument broke out between them. In a fit of rage, he strangled her to death and then fled from the spot, he said.

After being informed, the Navi Mumbai police launched a probe. Based on the intelligence inputs, they arrested Sheikh and lodged a case against him under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 302 (murder).

The police presented him in a local court, which remanded him in police custody for a week.