Man arrested for slitting wife’s throat at petrol pump over divorce dispute in Chhatrapatri Sambhajinagar

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 26-year-old woman working at a petrol pump in the Karmad area of the city was murdered, allegedly by her husband, on Thursday following a divorce dispute, the police said. The accused was arrested shortly after the incident that occurred in presence of staff and several customers at the petrol pump.The deceased has been identified as Pooja Gavande, who worked at a fuel station near the Ganapati temple in Karmad. The police said the incident took place in the afternoon when the accused, Satyam Gavande, Pooja's second husband, arrived at the petrol pump on a two-wheeler and confronted her while she was on duty.Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar superintendent of police Vinaykumar Rathod said, "Preliminary investigation revealed the couple was facing marital discord and did not live together. Satyam allegedly pressured Pooja to grant him a divorce as he wanted to remarry, but she refused, reportedly considering the future of her two young children from the first marriage."The police said Pooja's first husband had passed away a while ago, and she had married Satyam about six months back. However, due to growing differences, she started staying separately.The police said Thursday's argument escalated rapidly, and the accused allegedly pulled out a sharp knife, pushed Pooja to the ground and slit her throat repeatedly before bystanders could intervene. She died on the spot.The incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed at the petrol pump, and the footage is being examined as part of the investigation.Sources said the pump owner attempted to intervene during the attack, but the accused threatened him with the knife, forcing him to back off. Police said the accused then tried to flee the spot, creating panic among people present at the busy fuel station.Police teams from the Karmad police station visited the spot after being alerted. The body was sent for postmortem, and a case of murder was registered.The police said a search was launched, and the accused was traced and arrested within a short span from Kachner village of Karmad. Further investigation is underway, the police said.