MUZAFFARABAD: A female student of a postgraduate college was murdered in cold blood on Tuesday. The murderer shortly shot himself, out of panic.

The victim was shot in the temple by the slayer, after a brief argument, the witnesses and the police said. “The killer was already standing at the Radio Station Chowk and intercepted the victim when she got off a Suzuki pickup, to walk towards her educational institution, located nearby,” recalled a witness, who did not wish to be identified.

“The girl showed displeasure and moved ahead, but within moments he pulled out a pistol and shot her, killing her on the spot,” he added.

Deputy Superintendent (DSP) Zafar Ali Awan told Dawn that after shooting the girl, with an unlicensed 30-bore pistol, the 24-year old killer was trying to flee from the scene. However, when the people present at the scene raised an alarm and cornered him, he shot in his own temple.

He did not die on the spot and was moved to a nearby hospital, where he expired after two and a half hours, the DSP added. The deceased girl, it was learnt, belonged to Sangar Pathara, a remote village of Dhirkot subdivision, in the neighbouring Bagh district. She was living in a girls’ hostel here.

According to her colleagues, she had been telling them for more than a week that she was being constantly stalked by an eve teaser.

According to the killer’s relatives, he was mentally disturbed since a long time.

The incident has once again highlighted the rising trend of eve teasing in the city, and the subsequent insecurity among the female students.