The stalker Senthil, say police sources, resented the girl for rebuffing him repeatedly.
Highlights
- Puducherry teen stalked for over a year by a 32-year-old driver
- Accused resented girl for rebuffing him repeatedly, say police sources
- He attacked girl when her parents were away; he died the same day
On Saturday, a 17-year-old in Puducherry sat with her younger brother and sister to watch TV, not knowing that her life was about to descend into hell.
She had been stalked and harassed for over a year by Senthil, a 32-year-old driver. There had been four complaints to the police from her family and more from others who had seen the girl suffer his advances.
That afternoon, Senthil waited till her parents left for work, broke into the house, poured kerosene and set himself on fire. He then grabbed the teen and held tight, making sure the flames caught on her.
Senthil, say police sources, resented the girl for rebuffing him repeatedly.
He died the same evening. The girl is in hospital with 75 per cent burns.
A year ago, Senthil had accused the girl's family of chopping off his right leg and arm.
A police investigation revealed, however, that he lost the limbs because he was sprawled on a train track in a drunken state.
'The police didn't take any action... they said he is an accused but there is not much they can do...this happened even before he lost his limbs,' alleges the girl's father.
This is the second crime in Tamil Nadu involving a stalker months after Infosys techie Swathi S was hacked to death at a train station in Chennai.