20-yr-old woman stabbed to death by stalker in Chennai

The incident took place at about 1.30 pm when the woman, who was a student of Medical Laboratory Technology at a private college, was waiting at the railway station to return home to Chrompet.

A 20-year-old woman on Thursday was stabbed to death allegedly by her stalker at Tambaram railway station, more than 30-km away from Chennai, police said, adding the accused later attempted suicide by slitting his throat, and is undergoing treatment at a local government hospital.

The woman was taken to Chrompet government hospital where she succumbed to injuries.

The incident took place at about 1.30 pm when the woman, who was a student of Medical Laboratory Technology at a private college, was waiting at the railway station to return home to Chrompet.

According to the police, the accused had followed her to the railway station. Eyewitnesses claimed the two had an argument during which the man, in a fit of rage, took out a small knife from his pocket and stabbed her in the neck, they said.

The accused then attempted suicide by slitting his throat. Passersby alerted the police and called an ambulance.

The woman was taken to Chrompet government hospital where she succumbed to injuries while the accused was admitted to Chennai’s Rajiv Gandhi Government General Hospital for treatment.

Police said the woman knew the man for the past two years but had been “ignoring him” off late. The victim’s body was later sent for post mortem.

“She got acquainted with him two years ago during train journeys. They were not in the same college,” a senior police officer said, seeking anonymity.

“...The accused is in a stable condition. We have booked him for murder (under Section 302 of IPC) and investigations are underway,” the officer added.

The accused, police said, is a native of Nagapattinam district and an employeae at a private firm in Maraimalai Nagar.

Condemning the incident, AIADMK coordinator O Panneerselvam said incidents like these are “very distressing.” “Hearing the news of the student’s murder in broad daylight has caused great anguish… It is distressing that the rise in the incidents of murders has caused insecurity and apprehension among women,” he said.

The incident brought back memories of similar horrifying cases for the locals.

In 2019, a 27-year-old man attacked a woman with a machete at Chetpet station and then jumped in front of a moving train.

In 2016, a 24-year-old techie was murdered by a youth at Nungambakkam station for allegedly rejecting his advances.