The legal fraternity was in shock on Thursday after a 25-year-old advocate was stabbed to death in the Karnataka high court, paying with her life for either rejecting the advances of her alleged paramour or subjected to a murderous fit of jealousy.
Naveena died, bleeding profusely from multiple knife wounds to her head, neck and abdomen. She was attacked in full view of her fellow advocates, while her maddened killer Rajappa tried to harm himself, using the same knife to jab away at his neck and chest, as he was chased by lawyers into the rest rooms where he was locked in, until the police came.
Rajappa, Naveena’s 27-year-old colleague and one time “close” friend is now in Mallya hospital being nursed back to health. The murder weapon is in police custody.
Naveena’s parents Srinivasa Reddy and Savitramma who last week had conducted her engagement to someone from her own community, in Chintamani, Kolar, are inconsolable.
The young advocate, who graduated only a year ago before she joined well known city lawyers Prakash Shetty and Sadashivaiah, was talking to Rajappa during the lunch break at around 1.50 pm with the HC closed for business, when the young man, whom some say she has been close to for the last three years, whipped out a small knife and attacked her. Rajappa was practising under another advocate named Chandrashekhar.
The two were standing outside Court Hall 4 on the first floor of the building when Rajappa slashed at her.
The police said: “The accused was not in a condition to talk. Rajappa is placed under observation. We have got some information that she knew Rajappa and both were talking in the corridor.”
Home minister V.S. Acharya and law minister Suresh Kumar visited the high court. The ministers expressed shock over the incident. The Cubbon Park police have taken up the case.