A day after being attacked savagely with an axe by a besotted classmate who then committed suicide, JNU student Roshni remained in critical condition Thursday.
Doctors at Safdarjung Hospital said Roshni Gupta, 22, was in the Intensive Care Unit after having suffered four deep injuries on the skull. Blood vessels to the brain have been damaged.
She had a major brain clot and her right wrist was badly slashed, a doctor said.
Akash, a 23-year-old student of Korean in the university's School of Languages, attacked Roshni with an axe in a room in the School of Languages at the Jawaharlal Nehru University here Wednesday.
After the horrific attack, Akash committed suicide by slitting his own throat and also drinking poison.
The brutality caused revulsion and shock in the campus, known for Left activism in the student community.
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On Thursday, Roshni's brother Sudhir Gupta said his sister was never in a relationship with the attacker but he (Akash) had been "after her for a long time".
"My sister was never in a relationship with the boy. But he was hell bent on starting a relationship with her," Gupta told IANS.
"He (Akash) proposed to my sister several times. But she refused each time. That might have triggered the attack and suicide."
Gupta described his sister as "very intelligent" and said she had obtained good marks in last year's annual examination.
He said doctors had told him that while there was "movement in her hand and eyes, she remains critical".
She is the youngest daughter of a Muzaffarpur-based businessman who came for higher studies to Delhi after studying up to Class 12 in Bihar.
Police said the family of Akash had reached Delhi from Bihar.
A police officer said a four-page note written in Hindi and English by Akash was being analysed.
"He has written that whatever happened between them (Roshni and Akash) is known to their friends. So we will question the friends," he said.
"The letter says 'Muje maaf kardo. Ladke galat nahin hote' (Forgive me. Boys are not wrong.)"
A women delegation of the Bharatiya Janata Party meanwhile offered help for Roshni's treatment.