Jul 21, (Mid-day): His attempts to woo a 14-year-old went sour after she slapped him and onlookers thrashed him as well; as payback for his humiliation, he and four of his friends attacked her with a knife

Forced to eat humble pie after his proposal to a 14-year-old schoolgirl went sour, a 17-year-old boy exacted his revenge by stabbing her on Monday morning. Just 15 days ago, he had waited outside her school to ask her out, but the girl not only rejected his advances, but also slapped him.

He was further embarrassed when local bystanders began to thrash him for harassing the girl. The girl is a Std X student who resides in Virar (East). The accused is also a resident of the same area. Early last morning, the victim was just about to enter her school when she found her admirer standing outside with a few goons.

Alarmed, she immediately started to run back home, with the boys hard on her heels. She ran the entire 1.5-km stretch between her school and home, until the accused eventually caught up with her on her building staircase. There, he stabbed her in the abdomen with a knife. When she screamed, the boys got nervous and fled. The accused is still at large.

The girl was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries and is currently being treated. She told mid-day, “On Monday morning, at 7 am, I was going to school when the same boy who had proposed to me earlier was standing outside with four of his friends. I immediately took a U-turn and ran back to my building.

All five boys followed me and caught me on the stairs, and the accused stabbed me.” The Virar police have registered a case under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Palghar district’s police public relations officer, Manoj Lahange, said, “In revenge, the boy attacked her with a knife, but the girl is very brave and she tried to save herself by running away.”

According to the girl’s parents, after his romantic overtures went sour, the 17-year-old boy threatened the victim. Following this, the girl went home and told her parents everything, and they went to the police to lodge a complaint. However, the police took no action, the family alleged.

“The accused had threatened me after I slapped him and the public beat him. He wanted to take revenge, so I informed my parents about it, said the victim, while her mother added, “We also approached to the Virar police on the same day to lodge a complaint against the accused, but no action was taken.”

Lahange confirmed that the family had approached the police the very same day, a fortnight ago. “On same day, the girl had come to the police station and filed a non-cognisable harassment complaint. We are in search of the accused.”