Phulbani: A 42-year-old man allegedly hacked to death his wife, suspecting infidelity, at a remote village of Kandhamal district.

The assailant, Nirakar Mallick from R. Nuagaon village in Khajuripada police limits, fled the village after committing the crime. The body of the deceased, Sushama Mallick, 32, mother of two, was found lying with her head and other body parts being mutilated.

The axe, which was used for the murder, was retrieved near the spot. A month ago, the woman had informed the police that her spouse used to torture her suspecting infidelity. Nirakar was detained then and was later released after he pledged in a written undertaking not to harm her in future.

The deceased's children were out of the house when the murder was committed.

The accused was a construction worker and he suspected his wife to have developed extramarital relationship during his absence from home, said Khajuripada police station inspector Anita Kiddo.

A case under Indian Penal Code Section 302 (murder) has been registered and further investigation is under way. Search is on to arrest the accused at the earliest, she said.

The district Child Welfare Committee has been requested to take up the plight of the two minor girls, who are left with nobody to support them following the death of their mother. They are being rehabilitated in a government-run short-stay home for children, the police said.