Two days after a young woman was allegedly set ablaze by her “stalker” in the city, a 20-year-old engineering student was allegedly hacked to death in her house in Christurajapuram by a man for allegedly rejecting his love and marriage proposal.
The victim, V. Divya Tejaswini, was a student at an engineering college in Bhimavaram of West Godavari district. She was allegedly attacked with a knife by Nagendra Babu, a painter, when the former was sleeping alone at home around 11 a.m., according to the Machavaram police.
Nagendra also allegedly injured himself in the neck, abdomen and wrist with the same knife. While Divya died undergoing treatment at a private hospital, Nagendra is being treated at Guntur GGH.
According to locals, Divya and Nagendra reportedly knew each other since long, as the latter lived in the same street as Divya in the past. One of Divya’s cousin said that Nagendra spoke to him an hour before the incident and he had no clue that the accused would attack her.
Locals allege that Nagendra entered Divya's house from the back door after learning that her mother left the house to run an errand.
‘No witnesses’
Speaking to media, Commissioner of Police B. Sreenivasulu said: “We received information that Divya and Nagendra were found with injuries by her mother and neighbours. There were no witnesses to the incident. The victim’s mother was talking to a ward volunteer at a distance from the house when the incident happened. Upon returning home, she noticed that the doors were locked and both were lying in an unconscious state.”
As the man entered the girl’s house, the police were considering him as the culprit. They were yet to ascertain the motive behind the attack, Mr. Sreenivasulu said.
The police registered a case under Section 302 (murder) of IPC based on the complaint by the victim’s parents and examination of the victim’s wounds and the scene of the offence. The victim’s mother, Kusuma, told the media and police that Nagendra was harassing her daughter in the name of love.
Meanwhile, Nagendra’s brother came up with a photograph in which Nagendra and Divya are seen together. He claimed that the two got married secretly and were in a relationship for a long time. The investigation is on.
