Rasbehari Pal being taken to court on Sunday; (below) his Nimtala Street house. Pictures by Aranya Sen

A 77-year-old man allegedly stabbed his 65-year-old wife to death and surrendered at Jorabagan police station on Sunday morning.

Rasbehari Pal told police that his wife Minu and one of their sons-in-law, who lives in Masjidbari Street, had beaten him up on Saturday night. After he woke up on Sunday morning, he stabbed his wife on the back, neck and chest while she was fetching water from a tap in their Nimtala Ghat Street house.

“Minu was with her sister-in-law Kakoli Pal when Rasbehari attacked her from behind. Hearing Kakoli’s screams, we came down and restrained him. He freed himself and ran out of the door,” said Rasbehari’s cousin Biswanath Pal, who lives in the house.

Rasbehari walked to the police station from Nimtala Ghat Street and surrendered around 8.30am. He was immediately arrested.

“He seemed an ill-tempered man. We are investigating if he is suffering from depression,” added the officer.

Policemen visited the house around 8.45am and found Minu’s body lying in a pool of blood near the main door of the house. A knife was lying near the body.

Rasbehari, a former insurance agent, earned his living as an astrologer. He also traded in cement.

A preliminary investigation revealed that relations between the couple, who have three daughters, soured at least 10 years ago.

“For the past eight years, they had been living in separate rooms on the ground floor of the three-storeyed house,” added Biswanath.

Neighbours, too, spoke of the frequent fights between the two. “We have been hearing them abuse each other for years. Rasbehari had even attempted to strangle Minu twice. So we didn’t think much when we heard them quarrelling on Saturday night,” said Sanjay Sen, a local resident.

Rasbehari was remanded in police custody till October 19.