Thrissur: A huge crowd gathered at the cremation of the 22-year-old engineering student who was stabbed and set ablaze by her lover for spurning a marriage proposal. Neethu, a resident of Chiyyaram in Kerala's Thrissur district, died immediately after the attack on Thursday morning. She was killed by her lover Nidheesh, 27, an MBA graduate and an employee of a private firm in Kochi.
The case of Neethu and Nidheesh is a tale of immaturity and hot-headed crime of passion.
Nidheesh had a sharp knife, petrol and poison ready in his bag. He had worn gloves too, say witnesses. Parking his bike behind Neethu's house too smacks of premeditation, they allege. The poison was to take his own life after the murder. But he could not go ahead with it since neighbours caught hold of him and thrashed him.
The locals say Nidheesh reached the house early on Thursday morning. Some on morning walk had noticed his bike parked outside Neethu’s place. It is still unclear if he was hiding somewhere nearby. Some speculate they might have talked for a while before Nidheesh did the unthinkable. Neighbours had rushed to the house hearing Neethu’s screams. Her body had burned down considerably, eyewitnesses say. There was blood on her chest from stab wounds.
Autopsy revealed 12 stab wounds, most of them deep. She had sustained injuries to hand, probably from trying to block the jabs. There was 60 per cent burns to the body.
Nidheesh told the police he attacked Neethu because she was trying to distance herself from him despite a three-year relationship.
Latest reports suggest Nidheesh, who is in police custody now, and BTech student Neethu were in a relationship for over three years. Their TikTok videos have triggered debates online. The momu Vampire page is full of their romantic videos. Passionate prose and songs are shared with milestone days and dates mentioned.
‘Our wedding, you are mine from 16 August 2016’, ‘she is mine, I will suck out the blood of anyone looking at her’, ‘you are forever mine’, ‘I will love you till death’, ‘my beloved wife’… thus go the messages Nidheesh wrote for Neethu.
Most of the video have been shot at Neethu’s house. This shows their parents knew of their relationship. But even the locals saw these TikTok videos only after the gruesome murder. No one knows what happened between the lovers who celebrated their birthdays together recently.
Neethu was a final-year BTech student at Axis Engineering College, Kodakara, in Thrissur district. Her mother had committed suicide early. Her father had abandoned her. She was living with her uncle and grandmother.
Their family members had thought of marrying them off. It is speculated that Nidheesh suspected Neethu was getting closer to another man. His doubts grew when she said no to an immediate alliance.
