A 19-year-old college student was brutally murdered on Monday morning in the Sarkaghat sub division of Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi district.

The victim, identified as Siya Guleria, a resident of Nain village, was attacked while on her way to college.

The incident took place around 9:30 am as the girl was walking toward the Gopalpur bus stop. According to reports, a motorcycle-borne assailant intercepted her and slit her throat. The attacker also stabbed her multiple times in the neck and arm, causing her to collapse and die on the spot.

Local villagers acted swiftly to catch the fleeing assailant and handed him over to the police.

He was immediately taken into custody and the police are currently interrogating him to ascertain the motive behind the murder.

Mandi superintendent of police Vinod Kumar confirmed that the investigation is underway. The victim’s body was taken to a local hospital for the post-mortem.

Leader of opposition and former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur expressed anguish over the incident on social media, stating that the crime has embarrassed the state and instilled fear in families whose daughters travel for education. “The law and order in the state is in bad shape. Those involved should be punished for their heinous crime,” Thakur added.