The West Bengal Police have arrested the accused in the brutal murder of a girl student of the Berhampore college in the Murshidabad district of the state.
The student was allegedly stabbed to death by a sharp object in full public view allegedly by her jilted lover.
The state police said that the third-year student was killed outside the college mess by her ex-boyfriend on Monday.
The accused has been arrested and police have seized a gun from his possession.
"A Botany Honours third-year student of Berhampore College, Murshidabad, was assaulted by a sharp cutting weapon by an unknown assailant at around 6.30 pm (on Monday) outside the college mess," Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad, Sabari Raj Kumar, said while speaking to reporters.
He further said that the student was immediately shifted to the medical college by the police where she was declared brought dead.
In less than four hours' time, the police nabbed the accused from a mini truck he was hiding in from Shamsherganj in the Jangipur police jurisdiction.
"1 Accused, 3 District Police, 4 Hours. With effective blockades along NH 34. Malda, Jangipur and Murshidabad police coordinated excellently to nab the accused in a case of assaulting a woman," Bengal police tweeted.
The incident triggered a war of words between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Opposition parties, with the latter questioning the law-and-order situation in the state.
The incident was condemned by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly Suvendu Adhikari who said that easy access to weapons along with deteriorating law and order situation paints to lawlessness in the state.
Terming the incident "horrific", Adhikari, in a tweet, said, "In an unforeseen and shocking incident, yesterday, a student of Berhampore Girls' College was murdered in public view, in Berhampore. The assailant stabbed her multiple times and also slit her throat. When bystanders tried to apprehend him, he brandished a gun and threatened to fire."
"This horrific incident has generated fear & insecurity amongst public, especially women. Easy access to weapons, combined with deteriorating law & order situation, paints a perception of lawlessness in WB, which is propelling such crimes. Won't women ever feel safe in Bengal?" he said in another tweet.
Questioning Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee whether she will send a "high-level" fact-finding team to Berhampore, the BJP leader tweeted, "Accept responsibility and tender your resignation because law and order situation is in a perpetual free fall since you took over last year."
TMC state spokesperson Debangshu Bhattacharya claimed that the accused is a BJP worker.
( With inputs from ANI )
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