Man 'attacks' wife, in-laws with sword; beaten to death

Bhubaneswar: A 35-year-old man was beaten to death by his in-laws in Info Valley area of Bhubaneswar in the early hours of Sunday after he allegedly attacked them with a sword, injuring his wife and her parents.

Laxmipriya (32), her father Pramod Jena (52) and mother Bidulata (50) sustained serious injuries and are in hospital following the attack from Dibakar Bastia.

Police sources said Laxmipriya had been residing with her parents for several months owing to some marital issue. Early on Sunday, Dibakar reached his in-laws' house at Gramadiha under Info Valley police station limits and, following an altercation, attacked his wife with a sword, causing injuries to her neck and head.

When her father and other family members tried to intervene, he attacked them as well, injuring her parents. Her family members retaliated, assaulting him with a wooden plank that resulted in his death.

"He was drunk and armed with a sword. He hurled abuses at us and attacked his wife. He would have killed her had we not intervened. When we tried to save her, he attacked us. In the scuffle, he unfortunately lost his life," one of the family members said.

Another relative said, "We never intended to kill him. His intention was to kill his wife. In self-defence, we attacked him. We had immediately rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he died."

Police have detained Laxmipriya's younger brother for questioning. "We are investigating into the death from all angles. A final decision on whether to treat the suspects under the right of private defence provision will be taken only after investigation is over," DCP Jagmohan Meena told TOI.