Patna, Aug. 20: A 40-year-old mason was arrested today for stabbing his first wife and minor daughter to death and hiding their bodies in pieces for four days.

Police said Yogender Kumar had hacked the bodies of Sumitra Devi and their 10-year-old daughter, Nidhi, and then stacked the pieces into a hollow pillar that he constructed within his house after killing the duo.

The incident occurred at Paras Bigha village under Nagar Nausa police station in Nalanda, around 90km southeast of Patna, on August 17.

The police added that Yogender’s neighbours complained of a stink emanating from his house last evening. They then informed the police of the stench. The police, following the neigbours’ complaint, raided the house and found a newly constructed pillar. On breaking the pillar, the police found the body parts of the two victims inside.

An FIR was lodged after which the police arrested four persons, including Yogender in the small hours today.

“Yogender Kumar is a mason and has two wives. Deceased Sumitra Devi was his first wife and they had a 10-year-old daughter. Recently, Yogender got married again to one Munni Devi (28). The exact time of the second marriage is not clear and the police are still questioning the mason,” Nalanda superintendent of police (SP) Nishant Kumar Tiwary said.

He added: “Yogender kept his second wife in the same house. This led to quarrels between the couple. Yogender’s father Kishun Prasad and mother Rajkumari Devi also stayed with him.”

Sources said Yogender had married again because his first wife “could not give him a son”. Though he is being questioned, it seemed that Yogender wanted a son and hence remarried. The sources added that Yogender’s parents supported his second marriage.

On August 17 evening, Yogender and Sumitra had a heated altercation over his new relationship.

“Sumitra was obviously not happy as her husband had remarried. On August 17, the duo fought and matters turned worse. In a fit of rage, Yogender got a dagger and stabbed Sumitra to death. Seeing her mother being attacked, the child tried to raise an alarm. Yogender, with the help of Munni and his parents, grabbed the child and stabbed her to death as well,” the officer said.

“To hide the evidence, Yogender with the help of the other three, hacked both the bodies into pieces with the same dagger. Yogender then put all the pieces in one of the rooms and being a mason, constructed a pillar around the pieces and cemented it. The four then fled on the same day (August 17),” the SP added.

An FIR was lodged around 9pm on Sunday after the neighbours called the police. The cops traced and arrested Yogender and his second wife from Bhagwanpur village under Islampur police station in Nalanda at 2am.

“They were hiding at the house of one of Munni’s relatives. The police worked hard and used all the resources they had to trace them. After interrogations Yogender confessed to the crime. Based on his information, the police raided Badhubigha village, less than 5km from Bhagwanpur, and arrested Yogender’s parents,” Tiwary said.

The officer added that the police were questioning them for the intricate details about the incident. “The police have to ascertain why Yogender had remarried and also find out the second wedding date. The murder weapon has been recovered,” the SP said.

The SP told The Telegraph that the prompt arrest of the accused has earned applause from the police headquarters, as the director-general of police announced a cash reward for the investigating team.

“A reward of Rs 5,000 has been announced by the DGP for cracking the case. The investigation in this particular case has been perfect, scientific and fast. The murder weapon has been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory,” he added.