• Authorities convict man of killing young woman in Thiruvalla in 2019 by burning
• Victim killed after rejecting marriage proposal, relatives demand death penalty

An Indian court on Tuesday convicted a man of killing a 19-year-old woman in Thiruvalla in 2019.

The Additional District Court (I) found Ajin Reji Mathew guilty of murdering Kavitha, a native of Kaviyoor, with the sentence scheduled to be pronounced on Thursday.

Kavitha had rejected Ajin’s marriage proposals, which, according to investigations, led him to douse her with petrol and set her on fire on 12 March 2019.

Relatives of the victim attended the court session and demanded the death penalty for the accused.

Both the convict and the victim had studied together in the same high school, after which Kavitha joined a private institute in Thiruvalla to pursue a lab technician course.

Meanwhile, Ajin continued to pursue her against her will.

On the day of the incident, Ajin purchased three bottles of petrol from a nearby fuel station, intercepted Kavitha while she was walking to class, then stabbed her, poured petrol on her body, and set her on fire.

Local residents rushed the severely burned victim to the hospital, but she later died from her injuries at a hospital in Ernakulam.