Ranchi, July 12: A 35-year-old man has been arrested from Thakurganti area of Godda district for allegedly murdering his wife and three minor daughters, including an eight-month-old, in a bizarre incident that underlines prevailing deep-rooted hatred for the girl child in society.

The incident came to light yesterday when some local people spotted four bodies floating inside a well near a paddy field at Mandro village, around 30km from Godda district headquarters.

The bodies were later fished out of the well in presence of police and identified as Mehrunisha (30) and her daughters Reshma Khatoon (5), Ayesha Khatoon (3) and eight-month-old Yasmeen Khatoon - all of them were missing since Thursday night.

Mehrunisha's husband Sattar Ansari, who was also present at the spot, initially feigned innocence, prompting police to consider it as a case of suicides.

However, acting on a complaint filed by Mehrunisha's father Ainul Ansari, who accused Sattar of murdering the four, the police took him in custody.

In his FIR, Ainul alleged that Sattar used to torture his daughter and granddaughters regularly on different pretexts.

Initially, Sattar, a farmer, pleaded innocence, saying he was not present in the house on Thursday night. When he returned home next day, he saw only his son Abdul Rahim (7), who could say nothing about the whereabouts of his mother and sisters.

"But during interrogation, Sattar could not furnish adequate proof to support his claim that he was not present in the house on that night. He then stressed that his wife was mentally unstable and had left home with the girls when he and his son were fast asleep," said a senior police officer.

Godda SP Sanjeev Kumar said after completing the necessary formalities, police produced him in court yesterday. "Later, he was sent to jail in judicial custody," he added.