Ujjain:
A 19-year-old college student was intercepted by a man on a road in Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh, on Friday. The two spoke briefly before the man launched a frenzied attack, stabbing the woman 14 times in 47 seconds and leaving her fighting for her life in the hospital.
The accused, 21-year-old Sunil Jaroliya, was arrested within three hours of the attack. Police revealed that he wanted to marry the woman; when she rejected his advances and refused to speak with him, he allegedly committed the crime.
After the attack, he tried to flee from the police and fractured his leg jumping over a wall.
The survivor, Pooja alias Gungun, is a first-year B.A. student from Bapu Nagar. She worked as a computer operator at a pharmacy in Dawa Bazar. At around 12:45 pm on Friday, she was walking to work when the accused allegedly intercepted her near Madhav Club. He attacked her after failing to coax her into talking to him. She sustained grievous injuries to her abdomen, neck and hands.
Panic gripped the busy market as people rushed to help her. She was first taken to the district hospital before being shifted to Patidar Hospital, where doctors said she remains in critical condition.
The accused told police that he and Pooja had become friends on Instagram nearly four years ago. He was upset as she had stopped answering his calls over the past 10 days. Her mother was opposed to the alleged relationship.
Ujjain Superintendent of Police Pradeep Sharma said the accused had allegedly been harassing the young woman, and she no longer wished to communicate with him.
“A 19-year-old girl known to the accused did not want to speak to him. He went to the Dawa Bazar where she worked, spoke to her briefly and then stabbed her multiple times. She has been admitted to the hospital in serious condition. The 21-year-old accused has been arrested. While trying to flee, he fell from a wall and fractured his leg. He is undergoing treatment and will be interrogated before being produced in court,” the officer said.
