NEW DELHI, Jan. 2 (Xinhua) -- Indian police Tuesday arrested a former Army officer for allegedly murdering six people in a span of just one hour in the northern state of Haryana.

All the crimes took place in different areas of the state's Palwal town, just 80 km from the national capital, between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m. (local time) this morning, police said.

"We have arrested Naresh Dhankad, a former Indian Army lieutenant, for going on a killing spree with an iron rod. We have recovered the murder weapon," a senior police official said.

The arrest took place after the accused was caught on CCTV footage at one place of murder.

"His first victim was a 35-year-old woman in a local hospital, where she had gone for a relative's delivery. It was the hospital's CCTV footage that helped us identify him," he said.

"After committing the first murder, Dhankad killed four other people between Agra Road and Minar Gate of Palwal. His last victim was a security guard," the official added.

Police said Dhankad, who works in the Haryana agriculture department after taking retirement from the Indian Army, has been admitted to a hospital after he was nabbed from a desolate area.

"We just want to know about the state of his mental health as we find no reason so far for him to commit the random murders," the official said.