Kerala: Man shoots himself dead after killing woman

Kochi: A 24-year-old woman was shot dead by a youth who later killed himself at Kothamangalam near here on Friday, police said.

Rakhil (24) shot the woman, a final-year student of Indira Gandhi Institute of Dental Sciences around 3.30 pm, police said.

"The woman was staying at a rented accommodation along with her friends at Nellikuzhi. It seems like he reached the place, dragged her inside a room and shot her first before killing himself," police said.

The two, said to be known to each other, belong to Kannur district, they added.

A senior police official from the district told PTI that ballistics experts will inspect the weapon.

"We have received information that the youth was stalking her for the last two years and that her father had complained about him earlier. We are trying to verify this information," the official said.

There were two wounds on the body of the woman. One was in the head, hospital sources said.

Locals told the media that Rakhil had been staying near the woman's accommodation since the first week of July.