BANGALORE: A furious man killed his eight-year-old daughter with a rolling pin because she didn't answer questions during homework .

The gruesome incident took place at Avalahalli, near Byatarayanapura, off Mysore Road, on Thursday night. Satyanarayan Singh , 43, a plastic utensils trader, told police that he was provoked into hitting his daughter Neha as she didn't answer questions during revision.

Satyanarayan and his mother Padma Bai have been arrested. Police suspect Padma Bai bore a grudge against Neha and abetted him in the act. A Class II student of SGS School, Mysore Road, Neha was Satyanarayan's daughter from his first wife, Asha Singh, who had committed suicide in 2006. Satyanarayan was acquitted in the dowry harassment and murder case of his wife. He married again and has a two-year-old daughter from his second wife. The family stayed in a rented house in II Cross, Avalahalli.

The incident took place when the rest of the household was watching TV, the family members told police.

On Thursday night, Neha was studying and Satyanarayan approached her and asked her a couple of questions from her homework. However, Neha could not answer and an angry Satyanarayan hit her. Later, he went out along with his mother, wife and younger daughter, leaving Neha alone at home.

On returning home, Satyanarayan saw Neha sleeping. He woke her up and asked her the questions again. But Neha could not answer. A furious Satyanarayan then dragged her into one of the rooms and began beating her using a rolling pin.

Satyanarayan allegedly hit the girl all over her body and clubbed her several times on the head. Neha died on the spot. All the while, his second wife and mother were busy watching television in the main hall, said police.

The commotion drew neighbours, who spotted the girl's body in the house. When asked, Satyanarayan claimed that Neha had gone out to a shop and came back with injuries. He said someone had beaten her up and that she collapsed and died on the spot.

Neighbours called the police, who found several holes in the man's claims. Police said the behaviour of the family members aroused suspicion.

Duggappa, assistant commissioner of police (Kengeri Gate), said Satyanarayan's criminal antecedents aroused their suspicion. "We took him to the Byatarayanapura police station and questioned him. He confessed to the murder," he said.

"From circumstantial evidence, it is clear he beat the kid to death and we have booked him on charges of murder," said D Rajappa, deputy commissioner of police (West).

Killer dad got girl home only 2 months ago

Relatives alleged that Satyanarayan Singh, 43, was a sadist who hated the sight of his 8-year-old daughter Neha, from his first wife. Satyanarayan is believed to have brought Neha from her grandparents' place in Shimoga only two months back.

Police said they are investigating whether Satyanarayan's murder of Neha was premeditated and not done in a fit of rage.

Served 6 months in jail

Satyanarayan, the police suspect, had enough reasons to be angry with Neha. He was accused of harassing his first wife, Asha, and abetting her suicide in 2006. Asha had ended her life soon after Neha was born.

Based on a complaint by Raghunath Singh, father of Asha, Satyanarayan was booked for dowry harassment. The court sent him to jail pending trial. He spent six months in jail as an undertrial till he was acquitted by the court.

During this time, Neha was with her maternal grandparents in Shimoga. Satyanarayan, meanwhile, married Teju Singh and has a two-year-old daughter from her But in May, he turned up in Shimoga to claim Neha’s custody. The grandparents refused. “But he called for a panchayat and threatened to file a habeas corpus. They relented," said a relative.

Vendetta as motive?

According to this relative, Satyanarayan and his mother Padma Bhai wanted to avenge his jail term. “Raghunath had told Satyanarayan that he will take care of the girl well but Satyanarayan insisted on the custody claiming he would look after his daughter. But he had been torturing this girl," she said.

Satyanarayan enrolled Neha in a private English medium school in Bangalore. She had studied in a Kannada medium school in Shimoga.

Talking to TOI, Raghunath said he begged Satyanarayan not to take the child away. "He took everything that belonged to her," he said.

He hated his daughter

A cousin of Satyanarayan said he was a sadist and often hit the girl. "He hated her. We asked him to give us the child so that we could take care of her. But he never listened to us," he said.