Man kills sex worker, then stabs self to death

Mumbai: In an incident that has left its eyewitnesses shell shocked, a man stabbed a prostitute to death, and followed it by stabbing himself to death as well. At 9.30 on Wednesday night, a man, later identified as Pandurang, ventured into the red light area of VP Road in south Mumbai, looking for a prostitute. He stumbled upon the door of Laxmi Kamble.

Following her refusal to comply with his wishes, he forced an entry into her rented room, and stabbed her repeatedly. He then dragged her out of the house, flung her on the road and stabbed her again. When he saw that people on the road were staring aghast at him, he started stabbing himself until he lost consciousness.

Kamla, the woman who owns the house Laxmi lived in, said, "The man had come to spend the night with Laxmi. He asked her to name her price, but she denied him. He left at that point, but came back after some time with a knife and got into the room. He started stabbing her. When I interfered, he threatened me with the knife and pushed the girl on the street. He later stabbed himself continuously until he fell on the road."

While an eyewitness took Laxmi to JJ Hospital, cops took Pandurang to the same facility. Both were declared dead at 12.15 am by the cops.

Anil Jadhav, the passerby who took Laxmi to the hospital, said, "I saw her bleeding and shouting for help. She was lying on the road and the man lay on the other side of the road. I stopped a cab and took her to JJ Hospital. She had been stabbed in the back, stomach and chest."

Officials have not completely ruled out the possibility that the man was the sex worker's jilted lover. But residents of the area say they had never seen the man before.

Cops are speculating that he may have had a psychological disorder. An official from VP Road police station said, "Both have died. The man has been identified as Pandurang. It is too early to say whether he was mentally deranged or in love with the girl."

Cops are waiting for their autopsy reports.

Rampuri

A single-bladed knife that folds in half was a common weapon used by taporis and robbers in the streets of Mumbai. The blade is around 8-9 inches in length and has made its appearance in several Bollywood movies too.