Palghar, Apr 24 (PTI) Police have arrested a 55-year-old man for allegedly killing his wife in Maharashtra’s Palghar district after suspecting her of having an affair with another man, officials said on Thursday.

The woman’s body, then unidentified, was found at a farmhouse with a bloodstained stone lying nearby at Naresh Patil Wadi in Virar area on Tuesday and was sent for postmortem.

Some locals later informed the police that the woman was frequently seen collecting scrap in the area, senior police inspector Shahuraj Ranavare said.

During further probe into the matter, the police identified the woman, aged 50 and a resident of Nagya Katkari Pada near Phoolpada Road in Virar, he said.

The questioning of her family members indicated discrepancies in their statements, particularly that of her husband.

After extensive questioning, the man told the police that he suspected his wife was involved in a relationship with another man in the locality, due to which they had frequent quarrels, the official said.

The woman left home late Monday night but failed to return home. Her husband then searched for her and found her sleeping at a farm in Naresh Patil Wadi area.

The couple had a heated argument and the woman refused to return home with her husband, the official said.

The man, in a fit of rage, then allegedly picked up a heavy stone lying nearby and hit her with it repeatedly before returning home. The woman died on the spot, the official said.

The police arrested the man on Wednesday registered a case against him under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section 103(1) (murder), he said. PTI COR GK