PA to Maharashtra minister arrested for alleged abetment of wife’s suicide

A personal assistant to Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde was arrested in Mumbai on Monday in connection with the alleged suicide of his wife, police said.

Anant Garje was taken into custody early in the morning after the Worli police registered a case against him and two of his relatives for abetment of suicide. The complaint was filed by the family of his wife, Dr Gauri Palve, who was found dead in their Worli apartment on Saturday. Police said the 28-year-old allegedly took her life following a domestic dispute.

Garje is expected to be produced in court later in the day.

Palve, a dentist at the civic-run KEM Hospital, had married Garje in February this year.

Her family has alleged that she was subjected to harassment and mistreatment by her husband, which they believe drove her to take her life. They have demanded a thorough and impartial investigation.

According to the police, Palve’s relatives claimed in their complaint that Garje was involved in an extra-marital relationship, and that she had confronted him after discovering messages with another woman on his mobile phone. Frequent arguments reportedly followed, with Garje allegedly threatening her on several occasions.

Palve’s uncle has disputed the suicide theory, insisting that her death was a case of murder. He accused Garje and his family of being responsible and called for an in-camera postmortem and a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the circumstances surrounding her death.

Police said the investigation is ongoing.

With PTI inputs