In a grim reminder of similar acts of violence indulged in jilted lovers, a 22-year-old man attacked his female friend with a sickle in a fit of rage after she repeatedly spurned his efforts to maintain his relations with her in Pune’s downtown Sadashiv Peth on Tuesday morning, only to be chased and caught by youngsters minutes later.
In a broad daylight incident that took place at 9.55 am, the accused — indentified as one Shantanu Laman Jadhav – stabbed the victim girl in her arm and her boyfriend, using a sickle, when the girl who was riding pillion on a scooter with her friend.
The victim girl, who had her boyfriend had stopped briefly near Swad Hotel at Sadhashiv Peth and was conversing with him with, Jadhav accosted them and stabbed both of them with a sickle. After being stabbed, the panicked boy ran away, while the accused chased and stabbed the girl.
However, two youngsters — who were present on the scene of crime — saved the life of the victim girl, by chasing the accused boy, catching hold of them, accosting him and handing him over to the Vishrambaug police.
The injured girl and her boy friend were admitted to a nearby hospital where they are currently undergoing treatment.
Preliminary investigations have revealed that the victim girl and the accused were in love while both of them were studying in a college at Kothurd locaity However, after finishing education, the victim girl joined another college at Sadhgashiv Peth for higher studies. After a dispute, the relations between them had soured.