Shridhar, 26, who was working with a private firm at Wakdewadi, was found dead at his home in the early hours of February 7. Around his neck was a nylon rope, the other end fastened to the grill of the gallery of his flat at Saidham Society in Dhanori.

“The body was not hanging from the ceiling, which is usual in a suicide. Shridhar was found standing upright, with the rope around his neck. Why would a man wanting to end his life hang himself from the grill? It is not possible, it does not make sense. I suspect he has been done to death,” Shridhar’s uncle Gangadhar Margam said.

Shridhar’ wife, Supriya (22), told the police that when she woke up after midnight, did not find Shridhar in the bedroom, searched the house and found the body. There was no suicide note.

The police, awaiting the post-mortem report, believe Shridhar committed suicide after a quarrel with his wife over having a child. “He did not want a child at this stage of his career. The couple apparently had frequent quarrels over this,” said police sub-inspector B Shinde, investigating the death. Shridhar’s uncle dismissed the theory. “We strongly suspect something amiss. We just can’t believe that a six-foot-tall extrovert like Shridhar would commit suicide just because he did not agree to his wife’s pregnancy. There is more to it than meets the eye,” Gangadhar alleged.

Sridha’s father and uncle, who hail from Worli in Mumbai, have written to the Vishrantwadi police station, the deputy commissioner of police (Zone 4) and the police commissionerate, seeking a thorough probe.

In his letter to the Vishrantwadi police station on February 15, Shridhar’s father R B Margam wrote, “Prima facie it seems Shridhar committed suicide. But I do not agree with this theory. I request the police to hand over a copy of the inquest report, the panchanma and post-mortem to us. I am ready to pay the expenses for these copies.”

Writing to the police commissionerate and other senior officers, R B Margam has alleged that two persons could be involved in the case.