16-year-old girl attacked with an axe allegedly by her stalker in India, dies in hospital

Police said the man wanted revenge after he was slapped by the girl’s father

A police officer stands guard at a roadblock in Delhi on 20 April, 2021. Representative image. (AFP via Getty Images)

A 16-year-old girl in India’s national capital Delhi succumbed to her injuries on Tuesday after she was allegedly attacked with an axe by a man who had been stalking her for months, reports said.

The attack happened on Monday in Delhi’s Moti Bagh area.

The police said that the accused, Praveen, who is in his early 20s, had been stalking and harassing the girl for months, according to The Indian Express.

He bought an axe last month because he wanted to take revenge after the girl’s father confronted and slapped him, police said.

After the attack, he fled to the neighbouring state of Haryana and was arrested from his sister’s house there, police said.

A manhunt was launched to look for the accused after the police was alerted on Monday by locals who witnessed the attack.

The girl, a student of class 11, sustained injuries to her forehead and was taken to a hospital where she died on Tuesday morning, according to reports.

The police have registered a case of attempt to murder based on the complaints by the girl’s father and the locals. But it’s not yet clear if Praveen has accepted the allegations as the police continues their investigation.

The police looked at the CCTV footage of the area where the incident happened and checked the call records of both the victim and the accused, according to The Times of India. Family members of both were also questioned.

Meanwhile, another crime was also reported from the state of Uttar Pradesh. Police said on Monday that a 15-year-old girl was attacked with a knife as she tried to resist a molestation attempt by a 23-year-old man.

The man was arrested after the girl’s father lodged a police complaint against him. The girl sustained injuries on her face and was taken to a hospital. Police said her condition is stable and further investigation is underway.