Representative image of a murder.
Credit: iStock
Bengaluru: A 25-year-old man is on the run after allegedly slitting the throat of a college student he had been stalking, in broad daylight in Malleswaram on Thursday.
The victim, 20-year-old Yamini Priya, screamed as the attack unfolded, drawing residents who rushed to help, but she died on the spot. Priya was a first-year BPharma student at a private college in Banashankari.
According to police, the suspect, identified as Vignesh, followed her while she was returning home from college. Around 2:15 pm near an Indira Canteen behind the Mantri Square mall, he accosted her, pulled out a knife, slit her throat, and rode off.
“He came on a motorbike and attacked her with a knife, and even tried to throw chilli powder into her face,” a police officer involved in the investigation said.
Police have launched a manhunt for Vignesh. Priya’s body has been shifted to Victoria Hospital for post-mortem.
Investigations revealed that Vignesh had been stalking Priya for several days and had proposed to her. When she refused, he allegedly became enraged.
Priya’s family, originally from Tamil Nadu, has lived in Swatantra Palya, Srirampura, for the past 20 years. Her father, Gopal A, a tiles worker, had previously complained to the police about Vignesh’s harassment. The police had filed a non-cognisable report (NCR) and warned the suspect to stay away. Gopal reportedly fainted upon hearing of his daughter’s death and has been hospitalised.
A senior police officer said Vignesh had a criminal record. He was previously arrested for extorting money from vendors at KR Market by posing as a policeman. Police also found several women’s photographs on his mobile, many morphed and shared with friends.
Priya’s uncle, Murugan, said Vignesh lived opposite the family home and often tried to contact Priya, threatening her when she didn’t respond.
Her brother, Prashanth G, recounted: “In April, Vignesh came from behind and tied a turmeric root thread — symbolic of a mangalsutra — around my sister’s neck while she was performing puja during the Karaga celebration, and fled immediately. We filed a complaint at Srirampura police station, and an NCR was registered, but no proper action was taken. She might have been alive today if the police had arrested him then.”
Bright student: College staff
A staff member from Priya’s college described her as a bright student. “She took her second-semester exam on Thursday and left around 1 pm. Her father has been working in our college for the past few years, fixing tiles,” the staff member said.