A 19-year-old Dalit woman, who was to get married in two weeks, was stabbed to death in full public view allegedly by a man near here in Gujarat after she refused to sit on his motorcycle, police said Thursday.
The shocking incident took place in Bavla town of Ahmedabad district Wednesday evening.
The victim, Mittal Jadav, was stabbed multiple times by the accused, Ketan Vaghela, when she refused to go with him on his motorbike, the police said, quoting from the complaint lodged by her father Ramesh Jadav.
Vaghela, along with his accomplices - Shravan and Dhanraj - was booked on charges of murder and also under various sections of the the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, said officials.
They said the probe has been handed over to Deputy Superintendent of Police (SC/ST Cell) P D Manvar.
A video of the incident surfaced Thursday.
More From This Section
In the video, shot by a bystander, a person carrying knife can be seen running away from the spot, while the victim is lying unconscious and surrounded by onlookers.
The incident took place at around 6.30 pm when Mittal Jadav and her younger sister were shopping in a market near a bus stop, said Manvar.
The woman, whose marriage was fixed after two weeks, succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Ahmedabad late Wednesday night, he said.
The motive behind the murder is not yet clear as the victim's family members are in a shock and unable to speak about the gruesome incident, Manvar said.
"The FIR says that Ketan Vaghela, who came there with two others, asked the victim to sit on his motorcycle. When she refused, Ketan stabbed her multiple times and ran away with his accomplices," the police officer said.
"We do not have more details at this stage," said Manvar, adding the accused are yet to be arrested.