Jilted lover kills girl in Thane, nabbed

Thane (Maharashtra) : In a shocking incident, a jilted lover stabbed his former girlfriend while she was going to work on a scooter on the Eastern Express Highway here on Saturday, police said.

According to an official, the girl -- identified as Prachi Vikas Zade, 21, was waylaid by her ex-boyfriend Akash Pawar and stabbed repeatedly even as scores of vehicles passed by and pedestrians looked on shocked.

The incident happened near the Nitin Company in Panchpakhdi area of the city and after committing the crime, Pawar fled from the scene.

Some pedestrians attempted to catch him but retreated after he reportedly flashed the bloodstained knife at them.

Later, they rushed the severely bleeding girl, who had fallen beside the highway, to a private hospital where she succumbed to the injuries.

Police eventually launched a manhunt for the accused Pawar and finally nabbed him from Bhiwandi town in the district, around 15 km away from the incident.

Investigations revealed that Zade was a resident of Kopri's Kisore Nagar locality and studying in the Joshi-Bedekar College of Arts & Commerce besides working in a private company.

She was friendly with Pawar since over three years before they split a few months ago, but the boy continued to pursue and harass her.

On June 11, Zade had lodged a complaint against him with Kapurbawdi Police after he assaulted her near her home, and threatened to kill her if she did not respond to his overtures.