Krishnagar (Nadia), Sept. 11: A man repeatedly stabbed his pregnant wife ? in front of his four daughters ? when she told him that she was having labour pain.

On the night of September 8, 32-year-old Anita Biswas told Dulal that she was having pain in her abdomen. Dulal, a farmer in Durgapur Colony about 110 km from Calcutta, then brought a knife from a corner of their house and started brutally stabbing Anita in front of their daughters aged between seven and two years.

One of the girls rushed to the neighbours on seeing her mother stabbed in the back and neck, according to Biswarup Ghosh, the additional superintendent of police.

?The neighbours rushed to the Biswas residence, in the Krishnagunj police station area, and took Anita to the Saktinagar state general hospital in Krishnagar,? said the police official.

?The husband fled in the face of public anger,? the official said.

However, no one lodged a complaint with the police the next morning, officials said. Police reportedly learnt of the stabbing in the evening of September 9, when hospital authorities gave a report to the police about the injuries Anita suffered. A case was registered against Dulal on the basis of the report.

This morning, Anita?s brother, Nirmal Biswas, lodged a complaint with the police, following which Dulal was arrested from Majdia in the Krishnagunj police station area.

In the hospital, Anita was bleeding profusely from one side and fighting for life.

?It is one of the rarest cases that we have handled recently. After taking Anita to the operation theatre to put stitches on the wounds on her back and neck, we had to put her back on the operation table the next day to deliver her baby,? said J. Roy, the doctor attending her.

?Yesterday morning, Anita gave birth to her fifth female child,? said the doctor.

Roy said Anita is the most critical patient in the maternity ward. ?She is now on a saline drip. The condition of her daughter is being monitored round the clock,? he said.

Nirmal, a resident of Hanskhali, said his family was unaware of the happenings of the past few days.

?One of our relatives informed me last night that my sister is in hospital. On calling at her residence, I learnt of the incident,? he said.

?Dulal is inhuman. He used to beat up Anita for giving birth to girls. He does not realise that it is not in her hands whether it is a boy or girl,? said Nirmal, a trader.

Nirmal said his sister would face difficulty in bringing up five daughters. ?It will be all the more difficult as Dulal, who was an earning member of the family, is behind bars,? he said.

?My father also passed away few months ago. I don?t know how the family will maintain itself,? he said.