The Chennai Mahila Court handed down a life imprisonment sentence and imposed a fine of Rs 10,500 on February 26 on the stalker responsible for the public killing of a student in March 2018. The victim, identified as M Aswini, a BCom student from Meenakshi College, fell victim to a fatal attack by Alagesan, who was 26 years old at the time. Alagesan used a serrated knife to slit her throat outside her college in KK Nagar.
Aswini had filed a complaint with the police against persistent harassment by Alagesan. "He and I were in a relationship but after some time, I realised that he was not a good person. Therefore I decided to leave this relationship, but he continued to harass me,” she had said in her statement.
TNM had earlier reported that sources within law enforcement revealed that despite Aswini's ordeal, her family initially hesitated to file a First Information Report (FIR) to avoid disrupting her education. However, Saraswathi, Aswini's aunt, informed the media that the family had pleaded with the authorities to take action against Alagesan. Nevertheless, he evaded arrest and was simply sent back home.
The police inspector assigned to the case, S Balamurali, succumbed to Covid-19 on June 17, 2020. Balamurali had been serving at the Mambalam Police Station in Chennai, as a Law and Order Inspector.