Hyderabad: A 22-year-old girl was brutally killed by a thwarted lover, just one day before her engagement. The accused Shrikant stabbed the girl, Gayatri, in the stomach and back as many as eight times. The victim died on the way to the hospital.
The daughter of Sudagani Sailu of Yadgaripalli, Gayatri had completed her graduation and was living with her parents. Six months back, she had met one G Srikanth (23), also from the same village. Srikanth was working for a private firm in Bhongir. The two fell in love but after a few months, they broke up. Since then, Srikanth had been continuously harassing Gayatri. When he got to know that her parents planned to get her married, his harassment intensified.
Unable to bear this, Gayatri informed the matter to her parents, who took up the issue with the community elders. Srikanth was counseled and the elders warned him to stay away from her. But his harassment continued. Gayatri's engagement was scheduled on Sunday.
On Saturday her father went to work at Yadadri temple and her mother left for some field work. The accused, Srikanth, then entered the house and killed her. "Srikanth who already bore a grudge could have been waiting for an opportunity and taking advantage of her being alone at home, he barged into the home and stabbed her with a knife in her stomach and on the back", Yadadri SI G Prabhaker said. Neighbours who heard Gayatri screaming rushed to her home and found her in a pool of blood. She succumbed while being shifted to hospital.
Srikanth who had fled from the spot, later surrendered to the police. The police have registered a case of murder and have shifted the body for autopsy.
