In a chilling crime that has come to light from Kerala, a 24-year-old BDS student studying at Kothamangalam in Ernakulam district was shot dead allegedly by a Kannur man, who took his life following the incident. The deceased woman, who is also a native of Kannur, has been identified to be PV Manasa, a house surgeon at Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences in Kothamangalam, and the man is identified to be Rakhil Raghuthaman.
According to Kothamangalam police, the incident happened between 3.30 pm and 4 pm on Friday, July 30, after Rakhilbarged into the rented house Manasa was living with a few other students of the college near the institution.
Both of them were found dead inside a room in the house. “Rakhil is not someone who studies with Manasa. We are still collecting details about his other whereabouts and why he was there,” said the police. Though initially the police were not aware of the link, it later emerged that the duo did know each other. One of Rakhil's friends told the media that Manasa was not interested in pursuing a relationship which angered Rakhil. At one point, Manasa's family had filed a police complaint against Rakhil. The police said that though both of them were rushed to a private hospital in the region, they succumbed to injuries.
Rakhil Raghuthaman
“As per her friends here, they were having lunch when Rakhil visited. Manasa was disturbed seeing him and asked why he was there. When other students went downstairs to call their house owner, they heard gunshots from above. Some of us who were standing in the junction came rushing in hearing the loud wails of other students. We saw two of them lying on the floor bathed in blood. Though we rushed them to the hospital, they succumbed,” a ward member in the region told Mathrubhumi News.
The ward member also alleged that Rakhil had been living in the area since the past one month. “However, as per her friends, she was not aware of that,” he added. It is not yet clear how Rakhil managed to procure the gun.
Meanwhile, the CEO of the Dental College, Bijesh told IANS that earlier "there were some issues between Manasa and Rakhil and that he was warned by the police at Kannur in the past."
"We are not aware of the details of what the issue was between them. We came to know of the incident at 3.45 p.m. She (Manasa) was staying with three other friends in a house near our dental college. We are told that this youth barged into the house where she was staying and locked the room. It was only after several sounds were heard that the locals came and found out what had happened," said Bijesh.