Tea delayed in morning, man in Uttar Pradesh beheads wife with sword

The children, who were jolted by their mother's cries, rushed to the terrace and tried to save her but Dharamveer swished the sword at them as well, prompting a retreat to their room in fear, authorities said.

A brewing argument between a married couple in Uttar Pradesh, that allegedly began with a cup of tea, took a horrific turn when the man allegedly beheaded his wife.

The incident took place in Bhojpur village on Tuesday morning, The Times of India reported.

Dharamveer, a 52-year-old daily wage labourer, had asked Sundari, his spouse, for tea twice before flying off the handle when she said it would take some time.

A bitter argument ensued during which time Dharamveer allegedly brought out a sword and hacked her from behind.

Local authorities said Sundari had woken up at 6 am and began making tea and her husband woke up a few minutes later calling out to her for his cup. Their three sons and one daughter were sleeping in the next room, DCP (rural) Vivek Yadav told TOI.

Dharamveer repeated his ask five minutes later and rushed to the makeshift kitchen on the terrace, getting angry when his wife told him it would take ten more minutes for the tea to get ready. He reportedly kicked the utensils away.

He then rushed downstairs and returned with a sword and while his wife had gotten back to making the tea, he hacked her from behind, as per the officer who spoke to the publication.

The children, who were jolted by their mother's cries, rushed to the terrace and tried to save her but Dharamveer swished the sword at them as well, prompting a retreat to their room in fear, Yadav added.

Soldier, their son, informed the police of the matter.

"My father would often pick up fights over tea. He had a habit of drinking tea at least 5-6 times a day. If my mother refused to make tea so many times or took more time than expected, he would shout at her. But I had never seen him hitting my mother. We were in shock when we saw her body on the terrace, blood trickling out of the wounds," he told TOI.

The police said that Dharamveer sat beside the body, crying, until they arrived. An FIR has been registered against him bases the complaint and he was produced in court, where Dharamveer was remanded in judicial custody, Yadav told the publication.