According to Police in Madhya Pradesh, a 50-year-old man murdered his wife in a rage when she instructed him to wait for a towel he had requested after having a bath.

The incident took place on Saturday evening in Hirapur village under Kirnapur police station limits of Balaghat district, they said.

The accused, Rajkumar Bahe (50), a daily wage employee of the forest department, asked his wife Pushpa Bai (45) to give him a towel after taking bath, Kirnapur police station’s inspector Rajendra Kumar Baria said, quoting a complaint filed by her family members.

His wife told him to wait for sometime as she was washing utensils.

This angered the man, who then repeatedly hit on his wife’s head with a shovel, the official said.

The woman died on the spot, he said, adding that the accused also threatened his 23-year-old daughter when she tried to stop him.

The body was handed over to the family members on Sunday after postmortem.

The accused was arrested on Sunday and a case was registered against him on charge of murder and other relevant provisions, the official said.