A woman allegedly hacked her three-year-old stepdaughter to death with an axe and was arrested after being chased for nearly a kilometre by villagers, police said on Wednesday.The accused, identified as Pooja, had married Triveni Maurya (40) about a month ago. Maurya’s first wife, Laxmi, died two years ago, leaving behind their daughter Aditi (3), police said.The incident took place in Bijhara village under the Pipraich police station limits late Tuesday night.According to Maurya’s complaint, he, his wife and daughter were asleep when he stepped out of the house around 11 pm to relieve himself. In his absence, Pooja picked up the sleeping child, threw her to the ground and attacked her with an axe, severing her neck.The girl died on the spot, police said.Maurya told police that when he returned, he found the room soaked in blood and raised an alarm. Hearing his screams, villagers gathered at the spot as Pooja attempted to flee.“She was chased for nearly a kilometre by villagers, caught and tied up before being handed over to the police,” SHO Atul Kumar Srivastava said.During questioning, the accused told police that she was upset as her husband “loved his daughter more” and wanted to “teach him a lesson”.The SHO said the accused has been arrested, and the axe used in the crime recovered. The body has been sent for the postmortem examination, and further investigation is underway.