A 42-year-old woman was allegedly stabbed to death with a knife in front of her 18-year-old daughter at their residence on Bosepukur Road in Kasba early on Sunday. Police said the woman’s husband has been arrested.

The statement of the daughter, who is a Class XI student at a city school, led police to arrest the father, Binod Singh, for allegedly killing her mother.

Family members and neighbours said the woman had been abused by her husband for a long time.

Swapna Singh, who lived with her husband and their youngest daughter in a one-room, tin-roofed house in Kasba, worked as a domestic help in multiple households to support the family, while Singh, worked as a grille mechanic. They have two older daughters who are married.

Although the husband was at large when police were informed, they filed charges against him based on the statement given by the couple’s daughter, who accused her father of killing her mother.

“We received information on Sunday morning that a woman, namely Swapna Singh, 42, of 175, Bosepukur Road, had been admitted to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital around 5:30 am with stabbing injuries. She later expired. When her daughter was questioned, it was learned that the husband of the victim had assaulted her with a knife at their residence around 4am. The husband has been apprehended,” said Rupesh Kumar, joint commissioner (crime), Kolkata Police.

Several neighbours said they were alerted by cries and commotion from the house in the early hours of Sunday.

“We heard her daughter screaming that her mother was being stabbed,” said a neighbour.

Several neighbours said that the family initially tried to arrange transport to take her to the hospital.

“They attempted to book a cab but couldn’t find one as it was very early in the morning. When a cab finally arrived, the driver refused to take her after seeing her condition and advised them to call an ambulance,” a neighbour said.

The family later took her to Calcutta National Medical College and Hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.

A neighbour, Puja Singh, said Swapna had previously lodged complaints against
her husband at Kasba police station.

“The police had detained him a couple of times and even issued warnings. But whenever he got drunk, he would assault her, often demanding money,” she said.

Singh was arrested later in the day.

“The daughter has stated that her mother was stabbed with a knife by her father. Based on her statement, we arrested the husband,” said a police officer.

Singh was produced before the Alipore court on Sunday and remanded in police custody until April 9.