FARIDABAD: A masked man allegedly barged into a private school and stabbed a female teacher to death in broad daylight on Monday, with police arresting the accused within hours of the attack. The teacher was stabbed more than 20 times on her face, neck and chest, police said.
The incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed on the school premises, with a purported video later circulating on social media.
In the purported clip, a man -- his face obscured by a white scarf -- can be seen stabbing the teacher repeatedly, police said. The accused is also seen threatening the school operator who tried to intervene and rescue the victim.
The incident took place in Sikrona village. An FIR was registered in this connection at Sector 58 police station.
The accused identified as Amit (21), a resident of Kot village, was arrested within two hours of the incident and he later confessed to the killing, police said.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that about two years ago, the accused was studying at a private school in the woman's village. During this time, he became acquainted with her, and had communicated with her on certain occasions, a senior officer said.
He said despite the victim's reluctance to communicate with him, Amit stalked her repeatedly.
Irked by the persistent harassment, the woman had allegedly threatened to file a case against accused. The officer said the deceased teacher had also lodged a complaint of molestation against Amit a few days ago, but at that time, he had apologised publicly. Police believe Amit committed the crime to avenge the previous incident.
The deceased has been identified as Sandhya (29), a resident of Dabua, Ballabgarh. According to police, she lived with her husband in Firozpur Kalan and worked as a teacher at Saraswati Senior Secondary School in Sikrona village.
On Monday morning, she had arrived at the school around 9:30 am, as routine.
According to eyewitnesses, shortly after the school opened, Amit allegedly arrived at the school with his face covered and asked to meet the teacher. School staff informed Sandhya about this.
Subsequently, as soon as Sandhya reached the main gate, the accused attacked her with a knife, inflicting frenzied blows on her neck, abdomen, face, and chest.
Sandhya screamed for help and even tried to flee, but the accused kept striking relentlessly. The viral video shows that even when Sandhya fell to the floor, the accused continued to stab her, police said.
Hearing the commotion, school administrator Tejpal rushed to the scene and attempted to apprehend the accused. The accused charged at him while brandishing the knife, forcing him to retreat. The accused then stabbed Sandhya again and fled the scene.
Other teachers tried to attend to Sandhya, but she had already succumbed to her injuries.
"I tried to warn the young man, and shouted, "Hey, what are you doing? Stop!" but he charged at me with the knife. I started looking for something to use as a weapon, but by then, he had struck her several times and fled.
"There was only one attacker. He had a bike without a number plate, which was parked outside. After the incident, I informed police and immediately took Sandhya to hospital, where doctor declared her dead," Tejpal said.
Police said the accused is being questioned, and will be produced before a local court on Tuesday.