Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada district police who are investigating the murder of college student Akshatha, have revealed that the spurned lover Karthik, an engineering dropout and colleague of the victim, had purchased the knife by paying Rs 30 to commit the murder.

He then sharpened the knife at a carpenter’s shop.

Police sources revealed that Karthik, who is now cooling his heels in jail, had pre-planned the murder and took time to execute it. Karthik stabbed the young girl, who was a BSc student, after she rejected his proposal. After stabbing her, the accused tried to commit suicide by slitting his wrist. The incident took place in Sullia on Tuesday evening.

The investigating officer said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, that the preparation to murder the victim commenced in the morning. It is alleged that he bought the knife to commit the crime from a shop in Car Street in the afternoon, after which he got it sharpened at a carpenter’s shop, and then went to the college to murder the victim. However, he was unable to find his victim. He had planned to kill her in the classroom.

Karthik had kept a close watch on the victim’s movements, and found that she had left early on that day. He found her near Sullia town, and immediately went and stabbed her nearly six times in the stomach, said police sources.