Perinthalmanna, Malappuram: A young law student was stabbed to death and her sister injured in a crime of passion early on Thursday.
The deceased was identified as Drishya, 21, daughter of C K Balachandran. The woman's 13-year-old sister has been admitted to Moulana Hospital with stab injuries and her condition is said to be stable as of now. The girl sustained injuries when she intervened to save her sister from the attack.
The police have detained Vineesh Vinod, 21, a Muttungal resident, in connection with the incident.
Police said Drishya was fatally attacked after she had spurned the man's advances.
The accused barged into the house of the deceased girl around 8am and stabbed her with a sharp weapon in the second floor of her house, they added.
Local residents raised suspicion that the attack was a planned one. They said the youth, whose house is just some kilometres away from that of Dhrishya's, had set fire to Balachandran's shop at Perinthalamanna to divert the attention before targeting the young woman. The shop had caught fire on Wednesday night.
According to information received, Vineesh had tried to flee after committing the crime in an autorickshaw, but the driver suspected something wrong and took him to the nearest police station, where he confessed to the crime.
Local residents alleged that the accused had been troubling the woman with love proposals since school time. According to them, Vineesh in the past was warned by friends and relatives of Dhrishya not to trouble her.
Malappuram SP Sujith Das said the arrest of Vineesh has been recorded and interrogation was on.
The police, after initial interrogation of the accused, confirmed he had set fire to the ship. In the midst of questioning, Vineesh showed signs of being unwell and was taken to a nearby hospital.
Local legislator Najeeb Kanthapuram told the media that from what he gathered from the police Vineesh was angry after the girl refused to be friends with him.
"The 13-year-old girl is presently out of danger. The police are trying to find out more from Vineesh," said the legislator.
