Lucknow, June 11 : A man allegedly strangled his wife at their house in Lucknow's Thakurganj on Monday, the police said.

The man's nephew was a witness to the murder and he lodged a police complaint after which the husband was arrested.

The nephew Ikrar Ahmad said, "I saw my maternal uncle Mohamed Shakil, 38, of a slum area at Hari Nagar killing my maternal aunt Reshma, 36.

Ikrar and his maternal grandmother were sleeping outside their shanty when he saw Shakil reaching there.

He said that it was in the early morning hours that Shakil returned home in an inebriated condition.

He picked up a fight with Reshma. She confronted him for consuming liquor daily and returning home late, he added.

As the brawl escalated, Shakil caught hold of Reshma and pinned her down on a wooden platform.

"I saw Shakil strangling Reshma with a dupatta," Ikrar said.

He added that he got scared and cried for help. Hearing his cries, area residents rushed to the spot and freed Reshma.

"I took her to a nearby hospital in an e-rickshaw. However, doctors referred her to the Trauma Centre of KGMU. She was pronounced dead by doctors at the Trauma Centre," he said.

Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (West Zone), Vishwajeet Srivastava, said a case of murder has been registered against the accused who was being questioned.

Initial investigation revealed that Shakil suspected his wife to be in an extramarital relationship.

/IANS