In yet another horrific stalking incident in Tamil Nadu, a man slashed the throat of a woman in full public view in Cuddalore district. The victim, Shilpa*, was attacked as she was walking back from her college, Annamalai University, in Cuddalore. The victim is now battling for her life in a hospital.
This is eerily similar to a recent incident in Chennai, where a student was stabbed to death by her stalker as she left college.
The accused has been identified as Nandakumar. The victim is a first-year student of the university, and had reportedly been speaking to Nandakumar. She decided to stop talking to him recently, but Nandakumar refused to take no for an answer.
As the victim was returning from college, the stalker and she reportedly got into a heated argument. Then, in a mindless act of violence, he decided to slash her throat.
The incident was witnessed by several members of the public who watched Shilpa collapse to the ground. The people around then immediately apprehended Nandakumar, attacking him and pinning him down to the ground. Nandakumar was handed over to the police, who have launched an investigation. Shilpa is battling for her life at a local hospital in the district.
In a video that was filmed seconds after the attack, the public can be seen pelting stones on Nandakumar, whose left arm is covered with blood, presumably the victim’s.
The latest attack comes over a month after Aswini, a BCom student at the Meenakshi Academy of Higher Education and Research in Chennai, was stabbed to death by her stalker, Alagesan. The case had shocked the city as it not only took place in broad daylight but also points to the failure of the police for not acting on previous complaints by Aswini.
In 2016, Swathi, a Chennai techie, who was waiting at the Nungambakkam railway station was hacked to death by her stalker, Ramkumar. While Ramkumar later allegedly committed suicide in prison, the fact that the murder took place in a station in broad daylight sent shockwaves across the city, putting into focus the safety of women in Chennai.