Father slits throats of three daughters in Giridih, arrested

Bokaro: A 42-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly killing his three daughters with a sharp weapon in Giridih district, police said.

The accused was identified as Nandu Yadav, a resident of Turukdiha village. Police said the victims were Yadav’s eldest daughter Pallavi, 16, and 7-year-old twin sisters Riddhi and Siddhi.

“He was arrested shortly after the incident,” said Jeetvahan Oraon, sub-divisional police officer (SDPO), who visited the spot where the bodies were found lying in a pool of blood. Police said his wife, Radha Devi, and their youngest child, 4-year-old son Pantu, were at home, when Yadav killed his daughters around 6 am.

Devi told police her husband returned home drunk on Sunday night. She said she helped him bathe, served him dinner and he went to sleep. On Monday morning, she noticed he was unusually quiet. “I asked him why he drank so much, but he did not respond,” she said.

Devi said she became busy with household chores when Yadav took the three girls into a room, locked it from inside and told the family the children needed to study and that he would teach them. A short while later, he came out and allegedly confessed he had killed them.

Police said the girls’ throats were slit using a sharp-edged tool used for cutting grain. “I don’t know why he killed them. My daughters were innocent and good children,” Devi said.

During interrogation, Nandu claimed “a ghost possessed him” and that he did not know what he had done. He also said a year ago he ate meat and was thereafter possessed, adding that it was “God’s plan”.

Devi also alleged an extramarital relationship may be behind the killings. A forensic team collected blood samples and other evidence. Police said the suspected weapon was recovered. “We are investigating the circumstances and motive,” the SDPO said.