A man murdered his wife and mother-in-law at Khuntapala village under the Morada police station in Mayurbhanj district on Monday.
According to reports, Purnachandra Mahanta (50) hacked his wife Mamata (40) and mother-in-law Sumati (61) in the morning with an axe over a family dispute, killing the two on the spot.
Purnachandra used to thrash his wife suspecting her of having extramarital affair. On Saturday, he had threatened Mamata and Sumati of killing them, following which they had sought police protection.
As the Morada police reached the village on Monday morning to apprehend Purnachandra after the double murder, villagers detained the cops alleging that no protection had earlier been provided to the two women despite their plea to save their lives.