The Bantwal Town police on Friday apprehended Chethan, 22, who allegedly hacked 21-year-old Lavanya to death at the KSRTC bus stand in B.C. Road on Thursday.
Police said the accused had consumed rat poison and was admitted to a hospital.
Chethan, police said, is from Odilnala in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada.
According to witnesses, the victim had boarded a KSRTC bus bound for Kakkepadavu. She later got off the bus, following which the accused also alighted and attacked her with a machete at the bus stand in B.C. Road. Though passers-by immediately rushed her to the Bantwal Taluk Government Hospital, doctors declared her brought dead.
Police identified the victim as Lavanya, a resident of Kakkepadavu village in Bantwal taluk. She was employed at a private hospital in Kalladka and was on her way home at the time of the attack.
Police sources said the attack was the result of unrequited love.
After attacking the victim, the accused left the weapon behind and fled the bus stand. A video purportedly showing him attacking the woman with the machete and fleeing after she collapsed has been widely circulated on social media.
Published - July 17, 2026 11:50 am IST