Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Aug 23 - A Punjab police cop Sunday evening brutally stabbed his wife to death in this Punjab town and then fled with his sons, police said.

According to police officials, head constable Harjinder Singh, 40, stabbed his wife Ranjit Kaur, who was in her late thirties, with a sharp edged weapon at his quarter here in the Police Lines area.

After murdering his wife, Singh allegedly fled from his house with his six and seven years old sons. He had earlier sent his daughter to his in-laws' house.

'We have registered a case of murder against Singh. We are questioning his relatives and close friends to get clues about his whereabouts. We have also set up police teams which are raiding his possible hideouts in the neighbouring villages,' Sushil Kumar, superintendent of police (detective), Hoshiarpur, told IANS.

Singh's mother-in-law Surinder Kaur said that he was having strained relations with his wife.

'He was harassing my daughter for the last many years and was demanding more dowry from us. Many times we had tried to intervene but all our attempts failed,' she said.

Hoshiarpur town is around 120 km from Chandigarh.