A factory worker smothered his wife at their home and surrendered at the Sonarpur police station on Monday night.

Under interrogation, Bapi Gayen, the accused, alleged his wife, Priyanka had conspired with her lover to murder Bapi.

“She had an extra-marital affair. She had planned to kill me along with the other guy. That is why I killed her,” Bapi said on the way to the court where he will be produced later in the day.

Brought up in South 24-Parganas Canning, Bapi married the victim, his next door neighbour in Canning, around eight years ago. The couple moved to Sonarpur’s Mahinagar to a rented house. He had secured a job at a factory in Park Circus.

According to the cops, living next door to the Gayen’s was another couple. Over the years Priyanka entered into a relationship with her next door married neighbour. The cops said though the other couple had moved out of the Mahinagar residence to another locality but the two continued to meet, which led to frequent quarrels in the Gayen household.

“He claims he overheard her conservation with the other man where the two were plotting to kill him and decided to kill her,” said a police officer.

A piece of cloth was found tied around the victim’s neck.

The neighbours had noticed Bapi walking out of the home with the couple’s six-year old child.

“They would quarrel frequently. Though we did not hear anything yesterday,” said Biswajit Chatterjee, the landowner. The Gayen’s had rented the room four years ago.

The body has been sent for post mortem.