THANJAVUR: A 26-year-old teacher was murdered by a stalker when she was on her way to school around 9 am on Thursday.
The victim, identified as P Kavya of Piranthai hamlet of Alangudi village panchayat near Thanjavur, died on the spot after being attacked on the head with a knife by K Ajith Kumar (29), a house painter.
According to sources, Kavya, who was working as a temporary teacher at a government primary school in Alangudi, was riding to school on a two-wheeler when Ajith Kumar accosted her near Mela Kothattai Colony and attacked her after a verbal altercation.
Kavya collapsed on the spot and the suspect from Melakalakudi, who is said to be a distant relative of the victim, escaped. Acting on information, the Ammapettai police rushed to the spot. Ajith Kumar later surrendered at the Ammapettai police station and was arrested based on a complaint from Kavya’s father Punniyamurthy.
Police sources said Kavya’s mother P Santhosham was a former president of the Alangudi village panchayat.
Oppn slams state govt on teacher’s murder
Police said that Kavya had been in a relationship with Ajith Kumar but her family members were against it. After persuading her, Kavya’s family had organised her marriage engagement with another close relative on November 23, sources said.
According to police, Kavya informed Ajith Kumar over the phone about the engagement on Wednesday night. An enraged Ajith Kumar had then allegedly planned and executed the deadly attack.
Kavya’s body was later shifted to the Thanjavur Medical College Hospital (TMCH) for a postmortem, which is likely to be performed on Friday, police sources said.
It may be noted that this is the second such murder in a week after a 17-year-old schoolgirl was murdered by an acquaintance she had stopped speaking to in Rameswaram on November 19.
Leaders of PMK and Tamil Maanila Congress (Moopanar) condemned the brutal daylight murder and urged the state government to strengthen security measures.
In a press statement, PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss said the incident had exposed the “alarming collapse of public safety” in TN. TMC (M) chief GK Vasan said such murders have become “disturbingly routine” and the state must ensure strict punishment for the accused and tighten policing.