Man, wife remanded in police custody for murdering woman, their children to be lodged in lock-up till further orders

A court in Palghar on Saturday remanded in police custody till September 30 a man accused of killing his live-in partner and then disposing of the body, a police official said.

As per the Naigaon police official, accused Manohar Mishra had killed the woman as she had filed a rape complaint against him and was not willing to withdraw it.

The man's wife too has been arrested and remanded in police custody till September 30, and their two children will be with them in the lock-up till further steps are taken on whom to place them with, the official informed.

The probe into the case began after the victim's kin filed a missing person complaint on August 14, he said.

The murder may have taken place between August 9 and 12 and Mishra was held on September 12, he said.

''As per court orders, the children of the accused, a five-year-old boy and one-and-half-year-old girl, will be kept with them in the lock up. We contacted relatives but no one has come forward to keep the two children in their care,'' the official said.

''The one-and-half-year-old girl surely cannot be separated from the mother, while we will refer the case of the five-year-old boy to the CWC and act as per its instructions,'' the Naigaon police station official said.

Mishra and his wife were produced in court after their first remand ended on Saturday.