Man chops off 15-yr-old girl's hand in broad daylight for refusing to date him (PHOTOS, VIDEO)

A jilted lover chopped off a 15-year-old schoolgirl's hand with a sword at a busy Indian market in broad daylight.

The attack took place at the Lakhimpur Kheri market, in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, when the

victim was shopping with her younger brother.

The girl was immediately rushed to a private hospital where doctors are trying to stitch her dismembered hand back on.

Vinod Chaurasia, 19, is accused of attacking her and is alleged to have been stalking the girl for past few months. 

Vinod, who works at a welding workshop, spotted the girl shopping with her younger brother on Wednesday afternoon.

Police claim he followed her to try and convince her to go out with him but when she turned him down, he took out the sword and cut off her hand.

He then repeatedly struck her with the sword but fortunately, the crowd overpowered him and handed him over to the police.

A senior police officer said: 'The girl was referred to Lucknow for treatment as she was in a very critical condition. She had lost a lot of blood. Our priority is the health of the girl, who is still critical.

'Once her condition improves, we will record her statement following which the motive of the attack can be clearly ascertained.'

The shocking incident came days after a minor girl was stabbed to death by her alleged stalker in Balia, Uttar Pradesh, while she was on her way to school.

Stalking was made a serious crime a year after a physiotherapy student was brutally gang-raped in a moving bus in 2012.

The offence invites three years in jail and a fine. Despite that, the cases of stalking are phenomenally increasing in the country.

In 2015, 6,238 complaints about stalking were registered of which 519 were from Uttar Pradesh and 1,123 from the national capital New Delhi.