Enraged by the suspicion that his wife was cheating on him, a 44-year-old retired BSF officer shot his wife in the abdomen from point blank range at their residence in South-West Delhi's Chhawla area in the wee hours of Tuesday.
Police said that the incident was reported when neighbours and the two children of the couple heard gunshots.
The two children, one 15-year-old daughter and 10 year old son saw their mother lying on the ground and rushed out of the house and informed the neighbours.
On reaching the room, the neighbours found Sunita, Nityanand's wife lying on the ground, bleeding profusely.
A senior police officer said, "After firing at his wife, Nityanand, the accused allegedly fled from the house and was on his way to surrender at the local police station. In the meantime, the Chhawla police team which had been informed by Nityanand's neighbours about the firing incident caught him midway and apprehended him.
Police said that Nityanand was relieved from the Border Security Force due to his drinking habit.
"A few years ago, Nityanand was relieved from the BSF. Since he is an alcoholic, he used to often quarrel with his wife on the suspicion that Sunita, his 40-year-old wife was cheating on him,” police said.
On Monday night, Nityanand had allegedly consumed alcohol and started hitting his wife and later shot her in the stomach. A senior police officer said that Sunita was rushed to the Safdarjung Hospital in South Delhi where she is stated to be critical.
Police added that a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered at the Chhawla police station. Police said that they are questioning Nityanand to establish what exactly triggered him to fire at his wife. They have also taken his blood sample to enquire whether Nityanand was drunk at the time of the incident.