A 29-year-old teacher was allegedly stabbed to death at a private school in Faridabad’s Sikrona village after being lured to the school gate by a masked man. Police arrested the 21-year-old accused within two hours and say he had been stalking the victim for nearly two years.
BY PC Bureau
Faridabad, August 4: A 29-year-old schoolteacher was allegedly stabbed to death inside the premises of a private school in Haryana’s Faridabad on Wednesday morning in a chilling attack that police say was carried out by a man who had been stalking her for nearly two years.
The killing, which unfolded in broad daylight barely a few metres from a police outpost, has reignited concerns over the growing menace of stalking and whether existing legal mechanisms are sufficient to protect women who repeatedly report harassment before it escalates into lethal violence.
Police arrested the accused, identified as 21-year-old Amit, a resident of Kot village, within two hours of the attack. During preliminary interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime. Investigators believe the murder was an act of revenge after the victim recently lodged a molestation complaint against him, a case in which he had reportedly apologised publicly.
Lured to the School Gate
According to police and school authorities, Sandhya, a teacher at the private school in Sikrona village, was conducting classes when a masked youth arrived at the main gate around 9.30 a.m.
The visitor allegedly asked specifically for Sandhya and told school staff he had come to meet her. According to investigators, he used the name of her husband to persuade staff to call her outside. Believing it to be an urgent family matter, the teacher walked towards the entrance.
Moments later, CCTV footage captured the assailant attacking her with a knife outside the school gate.
The school administrator said he heard frantic screams and rushed outside.
“I tried to intervene, but the attacker turned towards me with the knife. By the time others gathered, he fled on a motorcycle that had no registration number,” he told police.
Sandhya was rushed to Al Falah Hospital, where doctors declared her dead.
The incident unfolded in full public view, leaving students, teachers and local residents in shock.
Two Years of Alleged Stalking
Police say the murder was not a sudden act of violence but the culmination of prolonged harassment.
According to investigators, Amit had been pursuing Sandhya for nearly two years despite her repeatedly rejecting his advances. He allegedly continued calling her, attempting to meet her and following her movements even after she made it clear she was not interested.
Police say Sandhya recently filed a molestation complaint against him. Although the accused reportedly apologised after the complaint, investigators now believe he harboured resentment and planned the attack in retaliation.
Officers are examining CCTV footage, mobile phone records and previous complaints to establish whether there were warning signs that could have justified stronger preventive action.
Crime Near a Police Outpost
One of the most disturbing aspects of the case is that the murder occurred close to a police outpost, inside what should have been one of the safest places for a woman—a school campus.
The brazenness of the attack has raised uncomfortable questions about whether victims of persistent stalking receive adequate protection after approaching the police.
Women’s rights activists have long argued that stalking is too often dismissed as a “personal matter” or youthful obsession until it escalates into grievous violence.
READ: Noida Teen Changes Homes Thrice Amid Rape, Death Threats
What the Law Says
India criminalised stalking in 2013 following the nationwide outrage over the Delhi gang rape case. The offence now continues under Section 78 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which makes it a crime for a man to repeatedly follow or contact a woman despite a clear indication of disinterest or to monitor her online activities without consent. A first conviction can attract imprisonment of up to three years, while repeat offenders face up to five years in prison along with a fine.
The new criminal laws also place offences against women and children in a dedicated chapter and strengthen penalties for several gender-based crimes.
Yet legal experts say the challenge lies not in the absence of laws but in timely enforcement. Victims often complain that repeated stalking, intimidation and harassment are treated as isolated incidents rather than warning signs of escalating violence.
An Indian female teacher was brutally stabbed 32 times inside a school in Faridabad, Haryana. The horrific murder has shocked the nation, and police have launched an investigation. pic.twitter.com/dQFWuJPA4O
— Irfan (@Irfanhoon) August 4, 2026
A Familiar Pattern
The Faridabad murder bears disturbing similarities to several recent stalking cases across the country where women were attacked despite having earlier rejected advances or approached the police for help.
Earlier this year, another schoolteacher in Greater Noida reported weeks of stalking before police arrested the accused under the BNS after she approached the Women’s Power Line. In another Faridabad case, a teenage girl was allegedly shot after months of harassment despite earlier assurances from the accused’s family.
Such cases have intensified calls for police to adopt structured risk-assessment protocols for stalking complaints, particularly where there is evidence of repeated contact, threats or obsessive behaviour.
Beyond Criminal Law
Women’s safety advocates argue that effective prevention requires far more than registering FIRs.
Among the measures frequently recommended are mandatory threat assessments in stalking complaints, prompt enforcement of bail conditions, closer monitoring of repeat offenders, rapid emergency response mechanisms for victims, greater use of electronic surveillance where legally permissible, and improved coordination between police and educational institutions when complaints involve students or teachers.
For many experts, stalking should be viewed not as a nuisance offence but as a serious predictor of future violence.
The murder of Sandhya has once again exposed the tragic consequences that can follow when persistent harassment is allowed to continue unchecked. Even with dedicated anti-stalking provisions in India’s criminal law, the challenge remains ensuring that warning signs are recognised—and acted upon—before they culminate in irreversible tragedy.
