'Dragged into field, struck her with axe': MP man kills pregnant wife after she refuses to cook spinach, arrested

KHARGONE: A man killed his pregnant wife after she refused to cook a vegetable he had asked her to prepare, in Jamarda village under Chainpur police station limits of Khargone district.

Bhikangaon SDOP Rakesh Arya told TOI that the man, Sunil, was arrested on Saturday for the brutal killing of his 25-year-old pregnant wife, Sheela Bai. He was produced before a court on Saturday evening and has been sent to judicial custody.

He said that the incident occurred on Friday after an argument broke out between the couple when the woman did not prepare spinach. She told him that the food had already been prepared and spinach would be cooked afterwards.

In a fit of rage, Sunil allegedly dragged her 200 feet into a field located behind their house and attacked her with an axe, striking her on the neck twice, leading to her death on the spot. His mother and younger brother were not present at the time of the incident, he said.

After committing the crime, the accused went to a relative's house and narrated the incident.

Officials said that the couple had recently returned from Maharashtra after working as labourers there. They have two children aged three and five.

Following the incident, members of the woman's maternal side reached the village and created a commotion, demanding that the accused be handed over to them. Considering the tense situation, additional police force was deployed. The autopsy was conducted under security, and the last rites were performed thereafter, the SDOP said.

He also said that both families shared cordial relations, with multiple inter-family marriages reported between them.

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