A 20-year-old girl named Sathya Priya was pushed in front of a moving train by her 23-year-old stalker named Sathish on October 13. The incident happened in broad daylight at the St Thomas Mount station in Chennai leaving passersby in utter shock.
Sathish fled the scene before the Railway police arrived. He was finally arrested by the city police in the early hours of Friday (October 14) in Thoraipakkam and was taken to the Mambalam police station for further questioning.
Two tragedies in 24 hours
Soon after Sathya Priya’s death reached her family members, her father, who was unable to bear the news, complained of chest pain and died on the way to the hospital.
Sathya Priya, a BSc student studying in a private college, and Sathish knew each other for about a year and lived in the same area in Guindy. While Sathish’s father is a retired special sub-inspector (SSI), Sathya Priya was the daughter of a head constable. Both their parents worked at Adambakkam police station.
According to eyewitnesses, on the day of the murder, Sathya Priya was sitting with her friends waiting for the train when Sathish approached her. Sathya Priya moved away to talk to Sathish and soon it led to an argument.
As the train approached the station, an angry Sathish pushed Sathya Priya whose body came under the wheels leading to her instant death. Her body was later retrieved and sent for postmortem by the Railway Police.
Fourteen days of judicial custody for Sathish
The Tamil Nadu Director General of Police (DGP) Sylendra Babu ordered a CB-CID (Crime Branch-Criminal Investigation Department) probe on October 14. Sathish, who was arrested from Thoraipakkam, was presented before the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Saidapet which remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody.
No action for a year
Sathish had been harassing Sathya Priya for over a year. On May 20 this year, Sathya Priya’s mother lodged a complaint at the Mambalam police station against Sathish. An FIR was registered and Sathish was booked under Section 75 of Tamil Nadu City Police Act,1888 (penalty for drunkenness or riotous or indecent behaviour in public place).
However, Sathish was let on bail the same day.
Two days later, Sathya Priya’s mother filed another complaint at the St Thomas Mount police station. According to The News Minute since both their parents belong to the police force, a ‘compromise’ was reached between the families and no FIR was filed.
Neighbours describe Sathya Priya as a polite, friendly young woman. A neighbour, on condition of anonymity, said, “If someone is saying no, a person should leave them alone. But this boy’s thought was ‘if I can’t have her, no one can. Was she born for him?”
Sathish followed Sathya everywhere
According to a classmate of Sathya Priya, Sathish was hell-bent on receiving her love. Sathish would stand in front of Sathya Priya’s college and wait for her.
“I used to take her (Sathya Priya) to the station on my bike. Sathish would be waiting outside the bike mechanic shop. One day, I phoned and asked her father to come. There was an argument, and her father yelled at him. This was two months back. The family gave a complaint. But about a month ago, Sathish came to the college and created a scene. A few others boys and I had to intervene and make him leave, but he made Sathya say she loves him in front of everyone,” the classmate said.
Not the first time
Sathya Priya’s murder has opened up wounds of stalking incidents in the past that ended tragically. In 2016, a 24-year-old Infosys employee named Swathi was hacked to death by her stalker at the Nungambakkam railway station. Last year, a Madras Christian College (MCC) student Swetha was stabbed multiple times before killing her at the Tambaram railway station.
