Indian-origin man accused of wife's murder attempts suicide

London: An Indian-origin investment banker who was arrested for killing his wife at their home in southest England had apparently tried to commit suicide by slashing his throat, it emerged on Tuesday.

Sanjay Nijhawan, 46, is in a "stable but serious" condition in hospital after an apparent suicide attempt, having allegedly murdered wife Sonita at their Surrey mansion over the weekend.

He was reportedly found by his father-in-law, slashing his throat and arms with a knife at his newly-built home on the posh St George's Hill estate in Weybridge on Saturday.

Read: 'Where's mummy?' Boy cries as mother stabbed to death at their home in UK

"He was suffering from depression and was on anti-depressants," Ajit Prasad, Sonita Nijhawan's business partner, told 'The Times'.

"He also felt a bit undervalued at work... He was getting around 14,000 pounds a month but colleagues on permanent positions received around 20,000 pounds," he said.

Nijhawan, who had worked in London for Barclays and ABN Amro, was made redundant in 2013. Since then, he was reportedly working on low-paying temporary contracts.

Another friend told the newspaper on condition of anonymity: "While he had no problems with money, he might have been anxious about where he was going to get a permanent position."

Nijhawan was arrested over the stabbing and strangling of his wife while their four-year-old son was in the house. Police are believed to have seized medication from the house. A post-mortem on Sonita has given a preliminary cause of death as head and neck injuries.

According to reports, the couple had spent three years building the two-million-pound home and had moved in only a fortnight ago.

Their neighbours described them as a seemingly happy couple and Sonita as a "loving and caring mother", who was a co-director of three care homes along with her father Chander Parkash and brother Amit.

The Surrey and Sussex major crime team officers said their investigation continues.