BENGALURU: In a shocking incident, a 19-year-old BTech student was stabbed to death in broad daylight on the premises of Presidency University at Itgalpur in Rajanakunte near Yelahanka on Monday afternoon. The assailant, a relative of the victim and a BCA student at Nrupatunga University, later stabbed himself and is in a critical condition.
Police suspect that the accused Pawan Kalyan (21) was in love with the victim, Layasmitha, who had turned down his proposal on multiple occasions. Both are from a village in Mulbagal taluk of Kolar district.
Police said Kalyan entered the university and went to a classroom where Layasmitha was sitting with three to four friends of her. He called her outside by saying that he wanted to talk to her. “The two spoke for about 15 minutes in the corridor after which Layasmitha, sensing danger, tried to leave the place. But the accused stopped her, pulled out a knife from his bag and stabbed her multiple times. Before other students could stop him, he stabbed himself in the chest and abdomen,” Bengaluru Rural district SP Mallikarjun Baladandi told TNIE.
The incident took place at 12.50 pm, soon after which both were rushed to a nearby hospital where Layasmitha was declared brought dead.
Victim blocked accused’s number: Mom
“The assailant has been shifted to Bowring Hospital, where he underwent a surgery and remains critical. We are probing the case from all angles,” the SP added. The brutal murder on the University campus shook hundreds of students and faculty members who were present. Questions are being raised about the safety of students as an outsider entered the campus and committed such a gruesome act.
Layasmitha’s mother Rajeshwari said her daughter had joined the college just about a month ago. “There are many security guards at the college. What were they doing? How did he (Kalyan) enter the college?” she questioned.
She said that she had spoken to her daughter at 8 am, hours before she was murdered. “He (Kalyan) is our distant relative. On Sunday night, I got to know that he had put a DP of my daughter on his WhatsApp number and I asked my daughter about it. She told me she had blocked his number,” Rajeshwari said. Rajanukunte police have registered a case.
When contacted, Presidency University registrar-in-charge Abdul Bari A said that the college and university have been told by the police not to share any information about the incident as it may affect the probe. Meanwhile, Presidency College’s in-house counsellor Bhama Suresh denied that any such incident had occurred at all.