MANGALURU: A 17-year-old girl was brutally attacked with a machete by her relative after her family rejected his marriage proposal, at Monthimarupadpu near Manchi in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada on Monday morning.
The victim, a second PU student, was waiting at a bus stop to board a bus to her college when the accused, Mohammad Jawar (28), attacked her around 8.45 am. Jawar, who runs a grocery shop near the bus stop and lives in the same locality as the victim, was waiting for her with the machete he had brought from his shop.
The accused repeatedly attacked the girl with the weapon in full public view, leaving bystanders shocked. As people screamed and rushed towards the spot, Jawar fled, the police said. The girl, who was bleeding profusely, was shifted by local residents to a hospital at Deralakatte. She sustained multiple injuries but is out of danger, the police said.
Jawar later surrendered before the Bantwal Rural police. The accused has been booked under various sections of BNS, including attempt to murder and aggravated criminal intimidation as well as the POCSO Act.
According to the victim’s relative, Mohammad Iqbal, Jawar had been pursuing the girl for marriage for some time and had proposed to her on two or three occasions before formally approaching her family. The family rejected the proposal as the girl is a minor and also warned him against pursuing her further.
Iqbal alleged that Jawar nursed a grudge after the proposal was turned down and attacked the girl with the intention to kill her. He claimed the accused first attempted to slit her throat before striking her on the head and other parts of the body, inflicting seven deep injuries.
