Udupi (Karnataka), Sep 12 : In a shocking case, a youth allegedly stabbed a young woman on her birthday after she refused his marriage proposal in Karnataka's Udupi district, said police on Friday.

The incident happened in Kokkarne village near Brahmavar town in Udupi district on Thursday.

The 24-year-old victim, Rachita Poojari, is in serious condition and is being treated at Manipal KMC Hospital. The accused has been identified as Karthik, who resided in a neighbouring house. He allegedly tried to slit her throat after stabbing her in the chest.

Preliminary investigations suggest that the accused stabbed her because her family did not agree to his marriage proposal. The woman is battling for her life at the hospital.

The accused jilted lover waylaid the victim while she was on her way to work and suddenly attacked her with a knife.

The police stated that the victim, Rachita and Karthik had been in a relationship for the past few years. The accused had fixed a date for their marriage and pressured her to agree to it. However, Rachita's family members, who opposed the relationship, did not consent.

After being convinced by her parents, Rachita blocked Karthik's mobile phone number for two weeks. Enraged by this, the accused turned hostile. He confronted Rachita under the pretext of wishing her on her birthday and again asked her to marry him. When she outrightly rejected his proposal, he stabbed her.

Further investigation is ongoing.

On February 24, three cars were set on fire and one motorbike badly damaged in south Bengaluru, in what is suspected to be an act of vengeance by a jilted lover. The incident was reported from the C.K. Achhukattu police station limits in Bengaluru. Two of the three cars that were gutted belonged to the woman's parents. The accused, in his late 20s, a rowdy sheeter Rahul aka Star Rahul and his gang members, a cabbie by profession, allegedly broke the windows and used the interior materials to set the vehicles ablaze, police said.

The accused and his associates went to the woman's residence at midnight, called out to her father and her elder brother and accused them of influencing the woman. They assaulted the brother and later torched the vehicles.

/IANS