Coimbatore : A 50-year-old construction worker on Wednesday stabbed to death his wife and mother-in-law and committed suicide by hanging in their house at Pollachi in the district.

According to police, Babu used to quarrel with his wife Sumathi (42) over not having an issue after 15 years of marriage. Unable to bear the torture, Sumathi left for her mother’s house nearby two years ago and sought a divorce, police said.

Babu used to go to Pollachi to persuade his wife to return and had gone there early today, police said. He brandished a knife at the throat of his mother-in-law, Visalakshi (60) who opened the door, resulting in her death on the spot. Hearing the screams,

Sumathi rushed to the door and became the victims of Babu’s knife attack. He then went inside and committed suicide by hanging to death from the ceiling.

The incident was noticed this morning, when Visalakshai’s son Prakash, living nearby, visited the house to meet his mother.

Police arrived at the scene and recovered the three bodies and sent them for post mortem.