HUBBALLI, 15 MAY

Hardly a month after college student Neha Hiremath was stabbed to death by her former classmate, a 21-year-old woman was stabbed to death at her house by a jilted lover in Hubballi on Wednesday.

Vishwa alias Girish Sawant, 23, knocked on the door of Anjali Ambigera's residence at Veerapur Oni in Bendigeri police station limits at 5.45am. When she opened the door, Girish stabbed Anjali to death with a knife in the presence of her grandmother and two sisters, a senior police officer said. Despite efforts by the family to stop the attacker, the man dragged her all over the house, kicking and stabbing her. Later, Girish pushed her into the kitchen where he stabbed her again.

A case of murder under Section 302 of Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused and police have formed teams to nab him.

Girish had allegedly threatened Anjali that she would face a fate similar to Neha, according to her sister, who accused police of inaction when informed of the threat. "Girish was harassing my sister Anjali for some time now. He expressed his love to her but my sister declined. He even pressured my sister to go with him to Mysuru," Anjali's sister Yashodha said here.

Anjali's family and the residents staged a protest here demanding strict action against the accused. Later, police reached the spot and dispersed them, assuring them that justice would be delivered.

Anjali's father Mohan said around seven months ago she had told them that Girish was harassing her. “I had warned him (Girish). But today (Wednesday) morning, unfortunately, my daughter was murdered by this same person. The accused has to be punished," he said. No girl should be in the situation that Anjali has been in, her family said.

A preliminary investigation by the police revealed that the accused has a history of involvement in theft cases and was also known to be a bike thief.

Meanwhile, Congress Councillor Niranjan Hiremath -- father of Neha -- met the deceased’s family and slammed the State government over the "deteriorating" law and order situation in north Karnataka and also sought suspension of Police Commissioner of Hubballi-Dharwad Renuka Sukumar for alleged "failure."