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Stalker neighbour killed Saifai paramedical student, arrested: Police
The accused, Mahendra Batham, who has been arrested following an exchange of fire with police, had been stalking 20-year-old Priya Mishra, the victim, the police added.
The paramedical student of Uttar Pradesh University of Medical Sciences in Saifai whose body was found by a canal on Thursday night was murdered by a man identified as her neighbour, police said.
The accused, Mahendra Batham, who has been arrested following an exchange of fire with police, had been stalking 20-year-old Priya Mishra, the victim, the police added.
Etawah senior superintendent of police (SSP) Sanjay Varma said Mahendra called Priya several times on her phone on Thursday and coaxed her into coming out of her hostel room. Later, he attacked her with a sharp weapon.
Her body was found by the Sonai canal, some 10 kilometres away from the varsity, which is more commonly known as Saifai Medical College.
“Police arrested Mahendra Batham after a shootout. While trying to flee, he fired on the police team. He was injured in his leg. The police will invoke the National Security Act (NSA) against him,” added the SSP.
Police officials said Mahendra had already confessed to the crime. Mahendra is already married and has a child with his wife, according to the officials.
Priya was a first-year student at the university. Earlier that day, she had attended the outpatient wing of the university but neither did she go to her 2 pm class nor was she seen in her hostel room, 302. Calls made to her by friends went futile as her mobile phone was switched off.
A postmortem conducted on the body late at night found that a sharp weapon was used in the crime.
Shobha Mishra, Priya’s mother, said, “Mahendra is from our neighbourhood and had been troubling us for the past three years. We had complained about his behaviour to his father and brother, but it didn’t have any effect. We thought that he wouldn’t bother her after Priya got admission at Saifai Medical College. But her hostel mates told us that he was troubling Priya even there and took her along with him on Thursday.”
“Five months ago, he had stopped our daughter on a street. Mahendra is married... We didn’t go to the police at the time out of fear of public shame,” said father Anil Mishra.
Priya’s murder sparked outrage on the university campus where thousands of students protested. In the morning, paramedical students resumed the agitation expressing concerns over inadequate security measures on the campus. The protests ended after the police informed them about the arrest.
