In a shocking daylight attack in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, 19-year-old Siya Guleria, a first-year BBA student at Sarkaghat Degree College, was brutally murdered while walking to her bus stop. Around 9:30 am, she was intercepted by an assailant identified as 36-year-old Vikas Patial (alias Rishu Patial). Patial allegedly slit her throat with a sickle and inflicted multiple injuries to her neck and hands, causing her to die on the spot.
The specific motive behind the murder remains a subject of intense investigation, as the victim’s family maintains there was no known connection between Siya and the accused. While police are currently interrogating Patial to establish a clear link, local unconfirmed reports and statements have suggested that the accused may have been a drug addict.
Despite his arrest shortly after the incident—aided by villagers who found him hiding in nearby fields—the senselessness of the act has left investigators and the community searching for answers.
