Patna, Oct. 27: A middle-aged woman today stabbed her subedar husband and teenaged daughter with a knife-like object used to chop vegetables in their Pragati Nagar house under Danapur police station.

According to police, Meena Devi had a heated argument with husband J.P. Upadhay, a subedar posted in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, around 9am.

“Upadhay had come home on a holiday. We came to know that Meena, who appeared a bit depressed, was acting strangely for the past few days. There was an argument between the two over some issues this morning after which the woman suddenly picked up the sharp object and attacked him,” city west superintendent of police Upendra Sharma told The Telegraph.

“She also hit her 17-year-old daughter, Shikha Kumari, with the same object,” he added.

Police said Upadhyaya and Meena, were first taken to the government hospital in Danapur. They were later referred to the Danapur-based Army hospital.

“Their injuries are not serious and doctors attending on them said their condition was stable. Nobody in the family has lodged any FIR. We think the incident was a fallout of some family dispute,” Sharma said.

Upadhyaya’s neighbours were, however, shocked by the incident.

“The Upadhyayas are quiet people. We have never seen any major problem with Meena. There were also reports that the woman had tried to attack her son, who was then in the house. He somehow managed to flee,”one of the neighbours said.

He added: “On hearing members of the family screaming, the neighbours called the police immediately and the injured father and daughter were rushed to the government hospital,”

Sujit Kumar, a city-based psychiatrist, said Meena’s trait could be the effect of loneliness. “The woman might be in a state of depression. Most of the times, a person staying alone, with the husband or wife working elsewhere, tends to suffer from some sort of disturbances,” he added.

“There are occasions when such people slip into a state of depression. With very less people around to interact with, such people might get frustrated with life. Such a situation can lead to depression,” the psychiatrist also said.

“Though I don’t know what exactly happened in the case of this woman, it’s not impossible that the argument might have been over the husband’s long absence from home. It’s also possible that the woman might have asked her husband to extend his holiday. Such cases need proper attention and care. Besides, family support is very important,” Kumar added.