In a tragic incident, a college student from Kerala was stabbed to death in public by a stalker in Karnataka’s Sullia on Tuesday.

The incident occurred near a temple in Sullia's Car Street around 3:45pm when Akshatha (19) was heading home from college. The victim was a second-year B.Sc. Computer Science student at Nehru Memorial College in Sullia and used to commute daily from Shantinagar in Kerala.

Karthik, also a second year Computer Science student and classmate, was reportedly unhappy with Akshatha for rejecting his advances. As Akshatha was walking towards the bus stop, he came from behind and stabbed her in full public view.

Akshata was crossing the Chennakeshava temple when Karthik creeped up from behind and fatally stabbed her with a knife. Akshatha was rushed to KVG Medical College in Sullia and later shifted to a Mangaluru hospital where she succumbed to her injuries. Her body was shifted to a government hospital for post-mortem.

Karthik also suffered injuries in the process of stabbing the woman. He was taken into judicial custody after passersby who saw the incident caught him and handed him over to the police.

While there were reports that Karthik tried to kill himself after stabbing his classmate, the police clarified that he was merely injured when he was attacking the woman.

"According to eyewitnesses, he got hurt when he tried to stab the woman. The incident occurred near Chennakeshava temple in Sullia in broad daylight and in the presence of many people who later managed to catch the accused and restrain him. Our investigation tells us that this was a case of the man wanting to love the woman but the woman rejecting his advances," said a police official at Sullia police station.