MEERUT, Dec. 17 -- A 35-year-old man allegedly shot dead his wife for stepping out without wearing a burqa following a dispute over money, before killing his two minor daughters who witnessed the crime and burying all three bodies inside his house in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, police said on Wednesday.

The gruesome murders, committed on the night of December 10 in Garhi Daulat village in the Kandla area, came to light after the accused's father alerted the police on Tuesday.

According to police, the accused, identified as Farooq, worked as a cook at wedding functions and lived separately from his parents -- Daud and Asgari -- in the same village. He resided with his wife Tahira, 32, and their five children. Police said Farooq was ...