Nashik: A man and his son allegedly hacked their neighbour to death in Maharashtra’s Nashik district and later went to local police with the victim’s severed head to surrender, an official said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Wednesday morning in Nanashi village of Dindori taluka, following which the police have arrested the accused man and detained his son, whose age is yet to be confirmed.

Suresh Boke (40) and his son killed their neighbour, Gulab Ramchandra Waghmare (35), with an axe and a sickle. After the incident, they reached Nanashi Outpost police chowki carrying the victim’s head and the weapons used for killing him, an official said.

After local people came to know about the incident, they damaged the house of the accused father-son duo and torched their car, he said.

The incident triggered tension in the village. Along with the local police, personnel of the nearby police stations as well as the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) were deployed in the village for security reasons.

“Prima facie, the killers and the victim were neighbours and there was a long-standing dispute between the two families. They had lodged police complaints against each other on December 31. The next day, Boke and his son killed Waghmare on the suspicion of helping his (Boke’s) daughter to elope,” he said.

Based on a complaint lodged by the victim’s wife, Minabai (34), a case was registered under sections 103 (1) (murder), 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 351 (2) (3) (criminal intimidation) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Peth police station on Wednesday night.

“While Boke was arrested, his son was detained. Both of them were handed over to the Dindori police for safety reasons. They will be produced in a court on Thursday. Security has been stepped up in the area and the situation is under control,” the official said.