Chhindwara (MP) | A "mentally disturbed" man allegedly hacked to death eight members of his joint family with an axe in Madhya Pradesh's Chhindwara district on Wednesday and later committed suicide by hanging himself, police said.

The incident took place at around 2.30 am in Bodal Kachhar village and the reason behind it was not yet clear, they said.

The man, identified as Dinesh Sariyam (26), who was "mentally disturbed", got married on May 21, Superintendent of Police (SP) Manish Khatri told reporters.

He allegedly hacked to death his wife, mother, sister, brother, the latter's wife and three minor children. The man later also attacked another nephew but he managed to escape from the spot, the official said.

A woman raised an alarm early in the morning following which police rushed to the spot and tried to search for the man, but he was later found hanging from a tree, Khatri said.

The bodies were sent for an autopsy and the injured person was undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chhindwara.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the incident and directed minister Sampatia Uikey to rush to Chhindwara and visit the other family members of the deceased.

Prima facie, a probe suggested the man was mentally unstable, according to officials.

Further investigation was on into the incident, the SP said.