Delhi woman attacked by alleged stalker near home

A 23-year-old private tutor was attacked with a blade near her home in outer Delhi’s Raj Park Saturday evening, police said.

Stating that a case of voluntarily causing hurt has been registered at Raj Park police station, police said the woman received multiple cuts to her cheek and chin and needed stitches, but the injuries are “superficial and she is out of danger”.The woman, police said, suspected the role of a man who had been stalking her for the last 11 years.

According to police, the woman was allegedly being stalked and harassed by a 27-year-old man since 2008, when she was a school student. The woman has reportedly told police that she was “certain” that it was he who had ordered the attack.

Rajendra Singh Sagar, additional deputy commissioner of police (outer Delhi), said, “In 2008, the man held the woman’s hand and harassed her. He again intercepted her last year while she was walking to her tuition centre. He had proposed marriage but the woman had turned him down.”

Sagar added that investigators have learnt from “different channels” that the 27-year-old had murdered his brother-in-law in a case of “honour killing” in June 2012, but the information is yet to be verified from police records. The police have also learnt that he was arrested for that murder and released on bail last year.

“We do not know his whereabouts. He doesn’t stay in Raj Park and the surrounding neighbourhoods. His parents live in Dadri. We have formed multiple teams and are trying to track them and his friends circle to know his whereabouts and his past,” said Sagar.

Police said the woman gives private tuitions and is simultaneously pursuing her post graduation through distance learning from Delhi University. “She was returning home from a shop around 8.30pm when a man suddenly attacked her with a blade. He repeatedly slashed her face before fleeing,” said an officer.

The woman cried for help, drawing a crowd to the spot, but the suspect took advantage of the gathering and managed to escape. The woman was rushed to a hospital where she was treated.

A relative of the woman said, “We had once met the man’s parents and complained about his behaviour. They had apologised and said he wouldn’t do it again.”

First Published: Feb 25, 2019 00:40 IST