Vellarada: Ashika, the 19-year-old killed by her former boyfriend at her own home at Vellarada in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram district on Monday, had been studying for a beautician course. She could not attend classes on that fateful day as she did not have the bus fare. Ashika (Amy) did not survive that day.
Anu, 24, killed Ashika, by slitting her throat, after the teenager backed off from the relationship. The youth then killed himself.
Only the teenager and her grandparents were at home when Anu barged into their house and committed the horrific crime.
Even when their granddaughter was being fatally attacked, elderly couple Chellappan and Baby were standing hapless before the closed door.
The couple had been in Gujarat with another of their daughter and had returned to the native state only 10 days ago. They narrated the horrific events of that day.
Her grandmother Baby lamented that Ashika had been lying on her lap just minutes ago before she was murdered.
After Ashika said that she was hungry, Baby went to the kitchen to make food for her. That's when Anu, hiding a knife, entered the house. He pushed aside Chellappan, entered Ashika’s room and bolted the door from inside.
The couple what next heard was her screams. After sometime, the screams stopped. Not knowing what to do, the hapless couple then ran around the house. Neighbours, who noticed this, rushed towards the house and broke open the door of the room. They saw the couple lying on the bed, bleeding profusely.
There were multiple wounds on their necks. It was suspected that Anu killed himself after first ensuring that Ashika was dead. Anu also succumbed to the self-inflicted wounds soon after.
Ashika is the daughter of Ajith-Seema. They stay near to the Karakonam Medical College. Ajith, a painting worker, and mother, a school staff, had gone for their respective jobs on Monday. They have another son Abhishek. Anu is the son of Maniyan and Ramani, who stay just two kilometres away from Ashika’s house. Manu is his brother.
Love in the time of social media
The police said the couple became close through social media. While the couple were in a relationship, they had made several tik-tok videos and shared them on social media as well. They had also taken a lot of selfies together.
When their relationship soured Ashika backed off from the relationship but Anu refused to let go. About six months ago, Ashika's parents had complained to Vellarada police and the cops had warned Anu. He even gave a written assurance that he would not trouble her anymore. Neyyattinkara DySP Anilkumar said that Anu proposed his love to Ashika again after some time. But she rejected, provoking Anu.
Murder in broad daylight
The horrendous incident sent shock waves across the region. The murder was committed around 9:30am on Monday. The house, where the murder happened, is situated in a colony with several homes. But most of the men and women in the area were at their work places. The remaining were busy with daily chores or visiting the market.
Ashika's house is situated on the road leading to the hostel of Karakonam Medical College. A security guard was also present at the medical college gate at the time of murder.
