Not being able to feed his three children as he could not find work for the past one month, a daily wager stabbed them with a kitchen knife while they were sleeping at his house in Khanna town of the district on Thursday night, killing one of them and critically injuring the two others.
The police have arrested the accused, who has been identified as Subhash Mandal, 28. His 4-year-old son Shivam died on the spot, while two others — 3-year-old son Vikas and one-and-a-half- year-old daughter Parvati — were rushed to the Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, in a critical condition.
His wife Seeta Devi’s thumb was severed when she tried to intervene to save the children.
Mandal was living along with his family in a rented accommodation in Kartar Nagar area of Khanna.
Khanna city SHO inspector Jagdish Raj said Mandal was the lone bread-winner for the family of five members. He could not find work for the past one month due to which he was under mental depression. Moreover, the family has nothing to eat, he added.
Seeta Devi told the police that she used to work as a domestic help. She claimed that her husband had started suspecting her loyalty following which she stopped working. Subhash indulged in a verbal spat with her on Thursday evening when she asked him to arrange food for children.
{{/usCountry}}Seeta Devi told the police that she used to work as a domestic help. She claimed that her husband had started suspecting her loyalty following which she stopped working. Subhash indulged in a verbal spat with her on Thursday evening when she asked him to arrange food for children.
{{/usCountry}}“On Thursday night, I woke up after hearing screams of my children. I was shocked to see my husband stabbing the children in their sleep with the kitchen knife,” she said.
“I tried to snatch the knife from him. In the attempt one of my thumbs got cut off from the hand. I raised alarm following which neighbours came and called the police. The police rushed the children to a hospital where Shivam succumbed to injuries,” she said.
She added the other two children were taken to the Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, as they were in a critical condition.
The SHO said the postmortem report of the deceased child revealed that the accused stabbed him seven times in his abdomen and chest. He stabbed the other two children in their abdomen.
A case of murder and attempt to murder has been registered against the accused, he added.