DHAR, MADHYA PRADESH: A 20-year-old woman was shot dead in broad daylight by a man who had been stalking her for nearly 2 years on Wednesday morning. The incident took place in a residential area of Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar.

As per eyewitnesses, the attack took place when she was on her to work on Wednesday morning. According to police, suspect Deepak Rathore who is now in custody is said to have been pursuing Pooja, the victim for marriage but she repeatedly turned him down which agitated him. Additional SP Devendra Patidar interacting with the media revealed that a hearing in regards to a case filed by her (Pooja) was scheduled today for which she had gone to her workplace to borrow some money. He added that during the day, the Police located Rathore at his house, and was arrested after he resisted arrest and opened fire. A cross-firing took place in which one police personnel was also injured and Rathore himself was hit in the leg.

Pooja was a chef at a restaurant and lived with her mother and two sisters in Brahmakund, neighboring Dhar. A few months back, she had approached the police. On the basis of her complaints, police had registered a case under Section 354 (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code at the Naugaon police station.