A 21-year-old girl was shot by her alleged stalker in Faridabad, Haryana on Monday, October 26. The daylight crime was caught on a CCTV, the footage of which has since gone viral leading to massive social media outrage. According to the police, one of the two accused men, named Tauseef, has been arrested.
The girl was a final year BCom student at the Aggarwal College in Ballabgarh, TOI reports. She had stepped outside with a female friend after writing a college examination when an abduction attempt was made on her on the street by two men. In the video, the men can be seen alighting their i20 vehicle to force the woman inside, while her friend tries to resist them. After a failed attempt to get the girl inside the car, one of the men shoots her fatally, before fleeing the scene with his associate.
The girl was reportedly rushed to a nearby hospital but had already succumbed to her injuries. News reports suggest one of the two, named Taufiq, has been arrested and is being questioned by the police.
TRIGGER WARNING: Here is the video that has gone viral on social media
The Girl Had Been Previously Harassed By Stalker
She lived with her family in Ballabgarh. Her father, speaking to Aaj Tak, said that the accused had had a history of harassing his daughter. He had reportedly been a classmate of hers in school. The family claims he had kidnapped the deceased once previously, following a one-sided infatuation not reciprocated by her. An FIR had been lodged against the accused, but the family, fearing social stigma, had dropped the charges. Nevertheless, he had continued to harass the deceased.
The father of the deceased has also confirmed that “there was pressure on her to change her religion and marry.” Along those lines, actor Kangana Ranaut also gave a strong reaction to the shooting incident. On Twitter, she demanded action against the accused while highlighting a communal angle.
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar assured strict action against the perpetrators. ANI quoted him saying, “The culprit in the Ballabhgarh incident has been arrested. Strict action will be taken against the culprit. No criminal will be spared. What is important is how fast the police investigates and arrests the culprit after a crime is committed.”
Jaiveer Rathi, ACP, Ballabgarh said, “One of the accused... was known to the victim and a complaint against him had been lodged by the victim’s kin a few months ago for harassment and molestation but a compromise had been reached.”
Rekha Sharma, Chairperson of National Commission for Women (NCW) reacted to the shooting incident, saying, "NCW is taking suo moto cognizance of the incident and writing to DGP Haryana to nab the other accused."
Social Media Reacts To Shooting
Ever since the CCTV footage has gone viral on Twitter, there has been a social media outcry against the lawlessness in Haryana. Owing to the religion of the accused, several are also terming the crime as an instance of alleged "love jihad," with trends of #justicefornikita.
There are raised concerns about women's safety following this incident, especially in light of the growing rape crimes against women in the past months. The Hathras case of a 19-year old Dalit woman being allegedly gangraped by four upper-caste men and succumbing to her injuries in September had rocked the nation. There was unprecedented outrage against CM Yogi Adityanath's Uttar Pradesh government and law enforcement after the girl's body was cremated at night against the family's wishes.
This incident had been followed by the gangrape and murder of another Dalit woman in Balrampur, UP in September, and most recently of a 6-year-old Dalit girl in Hoshiarpur, Punjab in October.
This is a developing story and we will be updating it.
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