Stalker Trespasses Into Teen's Home, Kills Her After She Refuses To Elope With Him, Search Underway For Accused

A man stabbed a 17-year-old girl to death after stalking her for several days. The incident took place in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu on Thursday.

According to local reports, the accused, identified as 21-year-old Durga Rao, was a construction worker who had previously worked under the victim’s father, a mason. While working under the victim’s father, Rao met Lavanya and fell in love with her. A few months back, the accused asked her father if he could marry her. However, when the victim’s father rejected the offer, Rao threatened to kidnap the girl.

“Lavanya used to interact with Durga Rao whenever she visited her father at the worksite. He is said to have mistaken Lavanya’s casual talks for love and proposed to her. While Lavanya turned down his proposal, Rao continued to stalk her,” a police officer said.

After the victim’s father rejected the offer, the accused began to constantly threaten her, following which Lavanya’s father stopped sending her to school. Rao, however, continued to stalk the girl and entered her home Thursday morning when she was alone. Rao spoke to the victim and asked her to elope with him. When she refused, the accused took a knife and stabbed her multiple times before fleeing from the scene.

Neighbors rushed to the home after hearing the victim’s cries for help and immediately took her to a nearby hospital where she succumbed to injures in the evening. A police case was registered and search was underway to find the accused, who remained on the run as of Thursday night.