Stalker Brutally Murders 14-Year-Old Girl In Front Of Her Horrified Friends At Playground

A 14-year-old girl has died in India after a stalker attacked her with a sickle in front of her friends.

The incident took place in Pune, a city in the western state of Maharashtra, Tuesday evening. The girl and her friends were playing at a playground when the accused, identified as Shubham Bhagwat, and his two accomplices went there on a bike, reported Hindustani Times.

The man walked toward the girl and asked her to come aside as he wanted to talk to her. The two then got into an argument, following which the man brutally attacked the girl in front of her horrified friends.

The victim, a grade 8 student, succumbed to her injuries on the spot. Police said the man initially targeted her neck.

"The attack was brutal and the girl is believed to have breathed her last on the spot," a police officer said as per Indian Express.

A toy pistol was also recovered from the scene. Police believe the accused or his accomplices might have used it to scare others to not intervene.

According to police, the 22-year-old accused was a relative of the victim and stayed with her family for some time. But he was told to leave after the girl's parents became suspicious of his motive.

"Shubham had been stalking her for some time though after knowing about this, girl's parents warned him to leave their house and he went to stay in another area," Hindustani Times quoted another officer as saying.

The three men fled the scene after the crime. The two accomplices were tracked down and taken into custody on the same evening, while the accused was arrested Wednesday morning.

Earlier this month, a man in the southern Indian state of Karnataka allegedly killed a married woman by setting her ablaze after she rejected his advances. The accused reportedly waited near the 23-year-old victim's home and as soon as she stepped out to go to the bathroom, he attempted to talk to her. When she refused to entertain him, he tried to sexually assault her. The victim then tried to fight him off, but the accused poured petrol on her and set her on fire.