Chhattisgarh man kills wife and minor daughter; attempts suicide

Surguja (Chhattisgarh): A 37-year-old man allegedly hacked his wife to death with an axe, suspecting her fidelity, and also killed his minor daughter when she tried to save her mother in Chhattisgarh's Surguja district, police said on Thursday.

The accused, who later made an unsuccessful attempt to end his life, has been arrested, they said.

The incident took place on Wednesday in Majhapara-Narmadapur village under Mainpat police station limits.

The accused, Sushil Kumar Manjhi, who suspected his wife of having an affair, beat her up outside their residence, an official from Mainpat police station said.

When a girl residing in the neighbourhood alerted her family about the assault, the man dragged his wife inside his house and locked the doors.

He then allegedly beat up his wife with sticks and later axed her to death, the official said.

When his seven-year-old daughter tried to save her mother, the accused, in a fit of rage, killed her also, he said.

The man then tried to commit suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling at home, but a rope which he used for it broke.

Some neighbours alerted the police who rushed to the spot.

The police entered the house by breaking its tile roof and arrested the man, the official said.

After being taken into custody, the man confessed to committing the crime, the official said, adding the accused was booked on charges of murder.

The bodies were sent for post-mortem and a probe was on into the incident, the police said.