Police said the husband and the occultist have been arrested in the matter. (Representational)

A 32-year-old woman was allegedly drowned in a river by her husband for refusing to have sex with a 'tantrik' (occultist) in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh, police said on Friday.

The incident took place on Thursday, police said, adding that the husband and the occultist have been arrested in the matter.

Police said the woman's teenage son saw his father Maanpal drowning her. Her brother has alleged that Maanpal threatened to kill the boy if he tried to rescue his mother.

SSP Akash Kulhari said woman's brother Rajesh Kumar, in a complaint to the Dadon police station, said his panic-stricken sister had called him two days ago, urging him to intervene.

Initially, the matter appeared to have been resolved amicably but on Thursday, Maanpal persuaded her wife to accompany him to a nearby river and pushed her into it, he told police.

After drowning the woman, Maanpal and the occultist, identified as Santdas Durga Das, swam across the river, fleeing to neighbouring Badaun district.

"On receiving the complaint, police managed to nab the duo. Police also recovered the body from the river," Mr Kulhari said.

He added that Santdas Durga Das had a criminal record.

Last year, a large quantity of heroin was recovered from him in a police raid, he said.