Badaun (Uttar Pradesh), Feb 19 (IANS): A man suffering mental illness has allegedly hacked his wife to death in her sleep in Uttar Pradesh's Badaun district.

The police said that the man woke early Thursday, picked up a sickle and repeatedly attacked his wife as she was sleeping in their Gangoli village home.

Hearing the woman's screams, other family members rushed to their room and rescued her, but she died before she could receive medical aid.

According to police, the accused, Sukhdev, who has been undergoing treatment for mental illness for a few years, is known to turn violent at times.

His family members told the police that they had never expected that Sukhdev would take such an extreme step.

Usha Devi, 43, and Sukhdev were married for 22 years and the couple has three children.

Three years ago, Sukhdev had met with a minor accident and later he was diagnosed with a mental illness.

Sukhdev would often shout at Usha, accusing her of planning to kill him.

Faizganj Behta police station SHO Ajay Chahar said, "We have taken the accused in our custody. He was booked for murder on the complaint of his brother-in-law. The accused has been changing his statements, repeatedly. We are trying to gather information about his mental illness.

"The decision on his custody will be taken by the court."