Ranchi, Aug 15 (IANS): A man in Jharkhand has been arrested for allegedly killing his wife by chopping her body with an axe as she was unable to conceive, an official said on Tuesday.

The incident happened on Sunday at Jopno village in Jharkhand's Khunti district.

The accused, Dorma Munda, however, filed a police complaint against "unknown persons" on Monday, claiming his wife was killed by them.

During the investigation, the police, however, suspected Dorma of being involved in the murder and grilled him. The man, during questioning, eventually confessed to the crime.

The weapon used in the crime has also been recovered.

Dorma told the police that even as he was married to Birang Devi for several years, the couple had no child.

Disturbed due to that, he killed his wife late on Sunday night. He told the police that he wanted to marry someone else after killing Birang Devi.

Also, while filing an FIR against 'unknown persons', he claimed that "many people in the village considered his wife a 'witch', and that could be one of the reasons behind the murder".