A 26-year-old mother of two children was beaten to death by her husband and a neighbour at Maheshtala on the city’s southern fringes on Saturday. The deceased’s husband and the neighbour were later arrested.

Police investigation revealed that Biren Sardar suspected his wife Shefali of having an affair with a local youth. The couple has a three-year-old son and an 18-month old daughter.

“A quarrel between husband and wife was going on since last Wednesday. Neighbours said Biren had beaten up Shefali several times in the past three days,” said an officer of the Maheshtala police station.

He said it was around 9 am when Biren started assaulting his wife. He dragged her out of the room and beat her up with a stick. Soon, Nabin, a neighbour, joined him. They continued beating her up till she became unconscious. “Shefali’s screams had alerted residents who rushed to her rescue. She was taken to a local health care unit where she was declared dead,” said the officer.

Biren and Nabin, who had fled the spot, were tracked down from a house under construction and booked for murder.