Over a trivial issue, a man attacked his wife and daughter with a knife, leading to the death of his 19-year-old daughter in Gujarat’s Surat district Friday night. The wife and daughter wanted to sleep on the terrace of the house while the man insisted they sleep in the room, which led to an altercation.

Kadodara police inspector R S Patel said the accused, Ramanuj Sahoo (45), a resident of Satyanarayan Nagar society in Kadodara village in Palsana taluka of Surat district, works at a dyeing and printing mill in GIDC at Kadodara with his wife Rekhadevi. The couple hails from the Siwan district of Bihar and has three children, including the deceased Chandakumari (19), and two minor sons.

The police said, on Friday night, the couple returned home from the job and after having dinner, Rekhadevi along with her children took the bedsheet to the terrace of the building. Ramanuj objected and asked them to sleep inside the house but she denied.

A heated exchange of words ensued and Sahoo took a knife from the kitchen and attacked Rekhadevi, who received injuries on her right hand, while Chandakumari tried to stop her father. The father and daughter reportedly engaged in fisticuffs which further enraged Sahoo and he stabbed his daughter several times with the knife resulting in her death on the spot. Sahoo fled the home after the incident.

Rekhadevi called the neighbours and later intimated the Kadodara police.

The police took charge of the body and sent it to a government hospital for postmortem. Rekhadevi lodged a complaint against Sahoo and an offence under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 326 (Voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 506 (2) (IF threat be to cause death or grievous hurt) and 504 (Intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) was lodged.