In a fit of rage over the birth of a fourth daughter when he had hoped for a son, a 30-year-old man killed the newborn by slamming her to the ground in a village here, police said on Friday.

Bablu Diwakar has been arrested, they said, adding that he was in an inebriated state when he committed the violent act on Sunday. Senior Superintendent of Police Sanjay Kumar Verma said Diwakar was upset and angry over the birth of another daughter.

He said Diwakar had two daughters with his first wife, who died. He remarried and the first child with his second wife was also a daughter. The couple’s second child, Diwakar’s fourth daughter, was born last month, the SSP added.

During an argument with his parents on Sunday, an inebriated Diwakar snatched the one-month-old girl from his wife’s lap and flung her to the ground, police said. The infant was rushed to a hospital with severe injuries where she died on Wednesday, they added.

Based on a complaint lodged by his wife Deepu, a case has been registered against Diwakar under section 105 (punishment for culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the BNS, police said, and added that Bablu was sent to jail on Thursday.