Man kills wife, children with axe over family dispute, arrested with weapon at scene

A man killed his wife and three children with an axe at their home in Madhya Pradesh's Damoh district on Saturday morning. Police said the accused, identified as Dwarka Patel, was found sitting outside the house with the axe after the killings and was taken into custody.

The victims were identified as Khema Bai, 27, and her three children aged 1,4 and 7. The incident took place at around 4.30 am, following a dispute between the husband and wife that had allegedly continued for nearly a year.

YEAR-LONG MARITAL DISPUTE

According to Damoh SP Anand Kaladgi, the couple had been involved in a dispute for about a year and the wife had earlier filed a case under Section 498 at Magaron police station. The couple had also argued on Friday, following which the woman's father came to the village to counsel the accused.

According to the police, the wife and children went to sleep after the argument at night. At around 4.30 am, the accused attacked them with an axe, killing all four. The incident took place in Kabirpur village under the Magaron police station area in Damoh.

ACCUSED FOUND WITH AXE

Police received information about the incident at around 6 am. A Dial-112 team was the first to reach the spot, followed by personnel from Magaron police station and SP Anand Kaladgi. Police said the accused was found outside the house with the axe and was taken into custody for questioning.

The SP said the accused is being questioned to establish the sequence of events and the reasons behind the killings. Given the seriousness of the incident, the Inspector General, Deputy Inspector General and a Forensic Science Laboratory team from Sagar are also reaching the spot.

The bodies will be sent for post-mortem after forensic examination of the crime scene, police said.