PATHANAMTHITTA: An 18-year-old girl was set ablaze after being stabbed by a teenager in broad daylight at Tiruvalla in Pathanamthitta on Tuesday. The girl from Ayiroor here is struggling for life at a private hospital sustaining 60 percent burns. Police arrested Ajin Reji Mathew, 19, of Kadapra at Kumbanad in Tiruvalla who committed the crime following a spurned love .
The incident took place around 9 am at the Chilanka junction near in Tiruvalla. Ajin waited for the girl, who is a radiology student in a private institute, on her way to the institute.
The duo entered into a quarrel following which Ajin stabbed her and set her on fire after pouring petrol.
Onlookers rushed in to douse the fire after collecting water from nearby shops.
The girl was admitted to a private hospital with burns on her face and anterior of the body.
According to the police, the duo knew each other since their higher secondary studies. The murder attempt by the accused was in a rage of fury after she rejected her proposal several times.
Police recovered CCTV visuals that showed the girl slapping him following which the murder attempt took place.
The culprit who tried to flee after the incident was seized by the public and handed over to the police.
The police also recovered another bottle of petrol, a beer bottle and coir from his possession which hints to a well-planned murder attempt. Ajin is a second-year B.Sc computer science student at a college in Vechuchira.
