Man Chops Off Wife's Limbs Because She Stays Away From Home For Work

A man who doubted his wife's fidelity because she worked and stayed in another city, away from the family, allegedly chopped off her limbs while she was asleep.

Police in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh arrested 28-year-old Preetam Rajput after he allegedly used an ax to chop off a hand and foot of his 26-year-old wife, Sangeeta, while she was sleeping with their 7-year-old son at their home Tuesday night.

Preetam, who had come home intoxicated, chopped off his wife's left hand from the wrist and hacked her left foot off, Bhopal police superintendent Anil Tripathi said, reported the Hindustan Times.

The couple's neighbors, who were alerted by the woman's screams, called the police. But Preetam reportedly threatened to attack the officers and chop off their heads. The police had to first overpower him and take him into custody, before they could rush Sangeeta to a hospital, according to a report by Times Now News. She underwent surgery in the hospital. Her condition is not immediately known and it was not clear if the doctors were able to reattach her severed limbs.

Sangeeta worked in a private firm in the city of Indore and traveled to be with her family in Bhopal once every fortnight. The cities are about 200 kilometers apart but a one-way journey can take up to 4 hours because of the condition of Indian roads. The husband was reportedly upset with this and insisted that Sangeeta come home every week. He doubted his wife's fidelity because she couldn't make the trip every week, police said.

The police have arrested Preetam on charges of attempt to murder and have started an investigation.

In a similar incident last month, a man allegedly murdered his 32-year-old wife on suspicion of having an illicit affair. Satish Kumar, 38, of the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested for brutally assaulting his wife with an iron rod after a heated argument over a suspected extramarital affair. The victim's brother found her lying in a pool of blood and rushed her to a hospital where she was pronounced dead. Kumar later confessed to the crime and said he suspected his wife of having an affair. He was arrested on Feb. 14 on charges of murder.