A 38-year-old man allegedly beat his estranged wife, her parents and two others to death over a family dispute in Surguja district of Chhattisgarh, police said today.
The incident took place last night in Sapnadar village under Mainpat development block of the district, Surguja Additional Superintendent of Police Ramkrishna Sahu told.
"The accused, Sanjay Manjhi, allegedly beat to death his wife Manmati (35), her father Ghutal (60), mother Ropni (55), a (woman) relative Piyaso (60) and one Mangal (60) with a stick," he said.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Mr Manjhi had left Manmati a few months back after he reportedly fell in love with her younger sister.
Subsequently, he started living with his sister-in-law at his native Kunia village in the same Mainpat area, said Mr Sahu.
"Last night, he suddenly arrived at Sapnadar, where Manmati was staying along with her parents, and had an argument with her over a family issue. During the argument, the accused lost his temper and started thrashing her with a stick," he added.
When Manmati raised an alarm, her father Ghutal and his friend Mangal tried to intervene, but Manjhi attacked them as well.
The assault was so severe that Manmati, Ghutal and Mangal succumbed to their injuries on the spot, said Mr Sahu. "However, Manjhi did not stop at that. In a fit of rage, he went to his in-law's house and thrashed his mother-in-law and another elderly woman to death with the stick," he added.
After committing the crime, the accused fled the spot.
On being alerted, a police team rushed to the village and sent the bodies for a post-mortem.
A case has been registered, the ASP said, adding that a hunt was on to nab the accused.
