A 16-year-old girl died after a man who was stalking her attacked her with an ax. The attack occurred Monday in India's capital city of New Delhi.

Police said the accused had been stalking the teenager for months. He decided to take revenge on the girl's family after her father slapped him for disturbing his daughter.

"We received a PCR call at 1:30 pm from South Campus police station saying that a girl had been attacked with an ax. She was admitted to Safdarjung Hospital. Unfortunately, she passed away today. The accused was a stalker and has been caught," Officer Ingit Pratap Singh told NDTV on Tuesday.

The accused was identified only by his first name Pravin. Police said the man purchased the ax last month and was waiting for the right time to attack the girl.

On Monday, Pravin hacked the girl using the ax while she was heading home. The girl received severe injuries near her eyebrow and was rushed to a nearby hospital. However, she died during treatment.

"I was at the shop when I received the information. My father runs an electric shop and we have a fruit shop also. She used to sit in the shop from 10 am to 2 pm every day. The accused used to harass my sister and also said that he will kill her before her birthday," the girl's sister said, Free Press Journal reported.

The accused was initially charged with attempted murder but it changed to murder following the girl's death.

"We will add further IPC sections of stalking and sections of Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Act against the accused. The ax has been recovered and the incident has been captured on a CCTV camera," an officer said.

Police Line
Crime scene police line | Representational Image Photo: GETTY IMAGES / SCOTT OLSON