Mid-Day

Mumbai, May 16: A man has been arrested for slitting the throat of his would-be wife — at their wedding ceremony.

Kishore Kumbhar (27), a resident of Pali, near Khopoli, used a shaving blade to attack Shubhangi Salvi (26), minutes after the ceremony began at Alibaug on Sunday afternoon.

Salvi was admitted to Alibaug Civil Hospital, where she was given seven stitches to the throat.

Shubhangi’s brother Kishore Palvankar, who witnessed the incident, said, “Kumbhar was holding a coconut and a few other items in his hand. As soon as the shlokas ended and the veil separating the two dropped, he pulled out a razor and slashed her throat.”

Palvankar said the guests were about to lynch Kumbhar, whose family intervened to save him.

“We initially thought he was possessed by an evil spirit and tried our best to free him (from police custody). After all, we didn’t want to break up the marriage,” Palvankar added.

But Rohidas Palvankar, another relative of Shubhangi, said, “As soon as Kumbhar admitted that he had done it deliberately, we called off the wedding.”

Kumbhar’s family said he was unemployed, and that his brother was to sponsor the wedding. A few days before the ceremony, however, he backed out. This came as a shock to Kumbhar, and could have been the reason for the attack, according to the family. But the police were not willing to buy the family’s story.

“Why would he try to kill Shubhangi for his brother’s u-turn? We feel there is more to it,” said Sub-Inspector Dileep Mane of Alibaug police station.  Kumbhar has been remanded to police custody till May 19.
 
Who? Kishore Kumbhar
What? Slashed his would-be wife Shubhangi Salvi’s throat
Why? Kumbhar’s family says he did it after his brother backed out of sponsoring his marriage
And? The cops, who are not buying the idea, are clueless