The police said Rafiq Makhrani and Savita Rathod had an argument over the latter's regular visit to her nephew's place after which he threw her into a well near their house.

Several people witnessed the incident and even tried to rescue Savita, while Makhrani fled from the spot, Sub-Inspector A N Bhatt said.

He added, “They threw ropes inside the well to pull her out. She managed to grab it a few times but slipped and soon drowned. Her elder sister then lodged a police complaint.” Makhrani was arrested from his house on Friday morning and will be produced in the court on Saturday.

According to Bhatt, Savita's nephew, Shailesh, lived with his aunt after his mother left the family following his birth.

“Savita brought him up till the age of 10 years and when his biological mother returned, Shailesh refused to go back and insisted on staying with Savita,” he said.

He added the boy went back to his own family only after Savita and Makhrani fell in love three years ago.

However, she continued visiting him everyday to feed him lunch.

On Thursday night, when she returned after meeting Shailesh, the couple had an argument and Makhrani asked her to stop feeding and visiting her nephew.