Leisha Choan and Ngakuim Raony, both from Manipur, were spending time at the Gateway feeding pigeons at around 6 pm when the youth, identified as Uzer Patel, pounced on them from behind and slit Leisha's throat with a knife. As a horrified Ngakuim tried to intervene, he slashed her on the forehead and walked away, holding the bloody weapon in his hand. As the incident happened in a jiffy, the crowd stayed behind, watching the horror unfold before them. Policemen on bandobast duty near the Taj Mahal [Images] Hotel then disarmed Patel and arrested him.

The two victims were rushed to the nearby GT Hospital, where Leisha was declared dead on arrival while Ngakuim's condition is stated to be critical.

Earlier in the day, Patel, an unemployed resident of Jogeshwari in the western suburbs, had stabbed his father repeatedly over a domestic quarrel. A few hours later, he struck again at the Gateway of India.

The Colaba police said Patel appeared to be a in daze, and spoke incoherently like a madman. He will be taken for a mental checkup on Sunday, and produced before the holiday magistrate after that.