Soumya Pushpakaran is survived by her husband, who works in the Gulf, and three children. Soumya Pushpakaran is survived by her husband, who works in the Gulf, and three children.

The brutal murder of a woman police constable, allegedly by her male colleague, is a fallout of a spurned marriage proposal, according to the victim’s family.

Woman police constable Soumya Pushpakaran, posted with the Vallikunnam police station in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, was hacked and set on fire, allegedly by her male colleague Ajas, on Saturday evening. Soumya died on the spot and Ajas, who worked at Ernakulam rural district, sustained burn injuries.

Police have found that Soumya and Ajas had known each other for many years. Soumya’s mother Indira told the media that Ajas had been repeatedly harassing Soumya with a marriage proposal. The woman constable was married and her husband Sajeev works in Libya. The couple have three children.

“Ajas held a grudge towards my daughter after she rejected his marriage proposal. Soumya had taken Rs 1.50 lakh from Ajas and when she wanted to return the amount, Ajas refused to take it back. She had credited the sum to his bank account, but he returned it. He wanted to marry my daughter. When she rejected the proposal, Ajas threatened to kill her husband and children. He came to Soumya’s house twice with the proposal. On one occasion, he even thrashed her with shoes,’’ said Indira.

Soumya’s eldest son Hrishikesh, 12, indicated that he was aware of the threat his mother faced from Ajas. “Two weeks back, mother had told me that if anything happened to her, Ajas would be responsible. He used to repeatedly harass her over the phone,’’ said Hrishikesh.

Soumya Pushpakaran, who was overseeing the Student Police Cadet (SPC) test in the area, was returning home on her scooter when Ajas, in a Maruti Suzuki Celerio, hit her vehicle in the Naluvila area Soumya Pushpakaran, who was overseeing the Student Police Cadet (SPC) test in the area, was returning home on her scooter when Ajas, in a Maruti Suzuki Celerio, hit her vehicle in the Naluvila area

Alappuzha SP K M Tomy said police are yet to record the statement of Ajas, now in hospital with burn injuries. “We are looking into the relation between the victim and the accused and what led to the murder,’’ he said.

Although Soumya’s family alleged that she had complained to police against Ajas, police sources said they hadn’t received any such complaint at Vallikunnam police station. Ajas is unmarried and was on leave since June 9.

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