Bhadrak: A 29-year-old man allegedly beaten to death a couple and grievously assaulted their younger daughter at Mato Balabada village in Chandbali area on Wednesday after the couple refused to let him marry their elder daughter.

The accused, Trilochan Senapati, had proposed to marry the elder daughter of Sudhakar Biswal, 65, and Saraswati Biswal, 55, of the village. Their 28-year-old daughter, who also has a seven-year-old son, had been living with her parents following some discords with her husband.

Senapati had reportedly fallen in love with the woman and had recently sought her parents' permission to marry her. However, the couple had turned down the proposal. "Though Senapati was interested in the woman, it was just an one-sided affair," said a source in the police.

After the woman's parents had turned down his proposal, Senapati had been looking for an opportunity to take the revenge. On Wednesday, Saraswati was relaxing in the balcony of their house when the accused came with a heavy wooden plank and assaulted her. Hearing her screams, her husband and younger daughter Ranjita came to her rescue. Senapati grievously assaulted them as well.

Saraswati died on the spot, while her husband succumbed to head injuries at Chandibali Community Health Centre.

Ranjita was shifted to SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack , from the district headquarters hospital with serious head injuries.

A police team, led by sub-divisional police officer Tarun Das rushed to the spot and arrested the accused. Inspector in charge of Chandbali police station Minati Biswal said: "The accused has been taken into custody and the wooden plank used in the crime has also been seized ."