Wife dies as man kicks her in stomach during fight, FIR filed

Mumbai: A 42-year-old Versova woman died after her husband kicked her in the stomach during a fight. She sustained serious injuries to her intestine. An FIR has been lodged against the husband on the charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder.

Police said Ruksana Shaikh lived with her husband, Shahnuddin, and two daughters, aged 14 and 5. She suffered from low blood pressure.

In the early hours of May 18, Ruksana called up her sister, Riya, and said Shahnuddin had fought with her and kicked her in the stomach. She complained of severe stomach pain. Riya called up another sister, Zara, who rushed Ruksana to Cooper Hospital. Nothing was shown on an X-ray and a sonography. Ruksana returned home with her family but started suffering from stomachache again. Her family admitted her to a private hospital in Seven Bungalows, Andheri. She underwent another sonography and returned home the next morning.

Her condition did not improve and the stomach pain persisted. Her family took her to a third hospital, where she underwent yet another sonography. This time, doctors advised the family to get a CT scan done. The family took Ruksana to a fourth hospital for a CT scan, where her husband also turned up. After seeing the CT scan report, the doctor spoke to the family physician and said Ruksana had an infection that had spread. The physician advised the family to admit Ruksana to Cooper Hospital, where she underwent surgery. She never regained consciousness after the surgery.

On May 20, doctors pronounced Ruksana dead. The body was sent for a postmortem examination. The report showed that injuries to her intestine led to her death. The FIR was filed on May 22.