Mumbai, May 8 (Mid-day) : A 37-year-old Vikhroli resident and his partner, with whom he had an adulterous relationship, committed suicide on Wednesday night.

According to the police, the couple was staying together in an apartment at Hariyali village in Vikhroli since May 2. While the woman, Fahima Khan (35), committed suicide at the residence, her lover, Habib Khan, hung himself in the cement shop where he worked as a labourer.

Both suicides took place between 10 pm and 10.15 pm. Senior Police Inspector Dinesh Desai, from Vikhroli police station, said, “We got a call from Habib’s employer around 11 pm, stating that his shop had been locked from inside. Initially we thought that it could be a case of an attempted break-in. But after visiting the spot, we learnt that one of his employees had committed suicide.”

When the police team visited Habib’s residence, they found Fahima’s body hanging from the ceiling. Desai added, “The autopsy report and investigations revealed that it was the woman who ended her life first. After looking at her body, the man committed suicide at the cement shop, which is just 10 minutes from their residence.”

In his statement, cement shop owner Maksood Ahmad Khan said that Habib looked tense ever since he had returned with Fahima from his hometown in Uttar Pradesh. “Both were married to other people and had children. We suspect Habib of making false promises to Fahima of giving her a better life in Mumbai.

However, the woman felt that Habib had cheated her and decided to end her life,” Desai told mid-day. The police have informed their respective parents in Uttar Pradesh, and have called them to the city to record their statements.