Supriyo Banerjee, a military policeman, along with his brother and parents, was arrested on Tuesday on the northern fringes of the city, on charges of murdering his wife.

?Jayanti Banerjee, 33, died at the base hospital of Barrackpore late on Monday. The doctors said the cause of her death was cardio-respiratory failure. The body has been sent for post-mortem,? said Parveen Kumar, superintendent of police (SP), North 24-Parganas.

Amidst murmurs of Jayanti having confronted Supriyo about an alleged extra-marital affair, her brother lodged a first information report with the local police station at Noapara, alleging that her husband and in-laws had tortured her physically and mentally.

?We have arrested her husband Supriyo, 40, along with his brother and his parents on charges of torturing the deceased,? confirmed SP Kumar.

According to police, Jayanti was married to Supriyo 13 years ago. The Banerjees soon discovered that she suffered from a nerve disorder that made her speech incoherent at times. After consulting a doctor, Jayanti received psychiatric treatment for a few days, but the therapy was soon discontinued.

Trouble intensified at home, even as Jayanti gave birth to two daughters, now aged 12 and eight.

?Supriyo was posted as a military police sergeant in the city, and would spend several days out of home at a stretch. His relationship with his wife Jayanti was strained,? said additional superintendent of police Manoj Verma.

Supriyo and Jayanti often quarrelled, and so their neighbours did not pay heed to Monday night?s altercation. Jayanti had apparently accused Supriyo of being involved in an extra-marital affair.

This allegedly triggered a brutal assault from the husband, who slapped her, kicked her and dragged her around by the hair, till she slumped unconscious to the floor.