Man stabs wife to death with scissors after she refuses to give him tea in bed

A man allegedly killed his wife by stabbing her multiple times with a pair of scissors after she refused to make tea for him on Tuesday (11 April) morning, police said.

The incident took place in Kotdwar, a city in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. Police have identified the accused as Sangeet Singh Negi, 38, and the victim as Aarti Negi, 35.

The victim's cries alarmed their two children – aged 11 and 9 – who started crying in panic. Neighbours rushed to the house to check on the children and found the woman in a pool of blood in another room. They alerted the police, who later arrested the man while he was trying to flee the area.

"The couple had a heated argument after the wife's refusal to make tea. Negi locked the door of their bedroom from inside and picked up a pair of scissors kept on the table nearby and stabbed his wife mercilessly until she died," senior superintendent of police, Mukhtar Mohsin, told the Times of India.

"The neighbours informed the police and a team of cops took the woman to the hospital where she was brought dead," he added. He said the body has been sent for post-mortem. The officer added that the accused has been charged with murder under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code.

Uttam Singh Jimiwal, in charge of Kotdwar police station, said the victim had filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband in December 2016. The couple, he said, was married for 13 years, but the man was allegedly an abusive husband. He was unemployed and the woman started working as a domestic help, following which their relationship further strained, the police officer added.

"The relationship soured after Aarti started working as a domestic help. Negi was unemployed. He also suspected her of having extramarital affairs," Jimiwal said.