Bystanders in India WATCH as young woman is stabbed 20 times by her ‘stalker’ in brutal killing
Graphic CCTV footage of the attack shows a man grab the woman and fling her to the ground before repeatedly stabbing and kicking her in the head
BYSTANDERS in India watched as a young woman was stabbed 20 times by her 'stalker' in a brutal killing.
Police named the victim as 21-year-old Karuna, who worked as a school teacher, and said she had previously been harassed by her attacker.
Graphic CCTV footage of the attack, which took place in Delhi, shows a man grab Karuna and fling her to the ground before repeatedly stabbing and kicking her in the head.
Numerous people are filmed walking along the street in the Burari area of Delhi during the attack, and at least one man appears to approach the assailant before backing away.
However, many others stop and watch the events unfold while failing to intervene.
People eventually stepped in when the man, named in as 34-year-old Surender Singh, tried to flee the scene.
Police deputy commissioner Madhur Verma said Singh was "chased by the public and handed over to police."
He has since been charged with murder.
Verma also revealed that Singh had a history of harassing Karuna and that she had filed a police complaint against him.
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Hindustan Times that Singh claimed to be in love with Karuna for more than a year and proposed to her several times, but she repeatedly rejected him.
The graphic CCTV footage was published online and Indians reacted with outrage.
Indian actress Dolly Bindra wrote on Facebook: "It's a shame to all of us that (those who were) present there watching (were) not helping - and today the girl is no more."
Civil rights activist Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted: "Delhi Police must answer why no action was taken despite complaint by Karuna's family."
The stabbing is the second instance of a woman being fatally attacked by an alleged stalker in the Indian capital in two days.
On Sunday evening, 28-year-old Laxmi was stabbed to death in front of her house by a man who then killed himself, the Times of India newspaper .
Her family told reporters that she had previously filed a police complaint against him for stalking.
Scrutiny of violence against women in India has grown since the 2012 gang rape and murder of a student on a Delhi bus, which led to tougher laws.
However, brutal attacks against women and children continue to be reported across the country.
Data from India's National Crime Records Bureau says there were over 130,000 sexual offences reported last year.
Over 1,100 cases of stalking were reported in the city of Delhi.