PATNA: A 25-year-old woman was allegedly hacked to death with an axe by her younger brother-in-law in Imadpur village under Parsa Bigha police station limits in Jehanabad district on Tuesday.

The crime reportedly stemmed from an argument over a delay in serving food.

After allegedly severing her head, the accused hung it from a banyan tree near his house.

He was later caught by villagers and handed over to the police.

The deceased was identified as Anshu Devi, wife of Dharmendra Kumar.

According to police, the incident took place when Anshu was alone at home. Other family members had gone to the fields for paddy transplantation.

Her brother-in-law, Kunal Kumar, returned from work and asked for food. A dispute allegedly broke out after the meal was served late, during which Kunal attacked Anshu with a sharp-edged weapon.

The killing came to light in a gruesome manner when villagers passing by noticed a severed head hanging from a banyan tree on the outskirts of the village and immediately alerted the police.

A team from Parsa Bigha police station rushed to the spot, recovered the body, and sent it for post-mortem.

Police arrested Kunal Kumar from the village and seized the weapon suspected to have been used in the crime. He is currently in custody and being interrogated.

Parsa Bigha SHO Sarv Narayan said the exact motive is still under investigation. "Prima facie, it appears the accused attacked his sister-in-law following a dispute after food was served late. However, we are probing all angles to establish the exact reason," he said.