In a rather shocking incident, a 22-year-old student from Kerala was allegedly murdered by her classmate for rejecting romantic advances. The victim Nithina Mol, according to reports, was slashed to death by her classmate Abishek Baiju on the premises of St Thomas College in Kannur district's small town of Pala.

Both Nithina and Abishek were students of B Voc Food Processing and had come to the college to write their examinations. The latter slit the victim's neck allegedly with a penknife right after she came out of a classroom having finished writing her exam paper. Even though Nithina was rushed to a nearby hospital, she succumbed to her injuries. Abishek was taken into custody by the local police.

Condemning the incident, the state's Higher Education Minister Dr R Bindu tweeted, "The news that a student has murdered his classmate for rejecting his 'romantic' advances is shocking and saddening to say the least." She added, "Every person, irrespective of gender, has the right to make their own choices. Except, nobody has the right to take another life. Definitely not over 'love'." In August this year, a similar incident had taken place where a 24-year-old dental student P V Manasa was shot to death by her former boyfriend, who later killed himself. A week back, a 20-year-old college student was stabbed to death by a youth near Chennai's Tambaram railway station.