Ankara, May 19 (IANS): A 19-year-old woman was shot in the head by an unidentified assailant in Turkey, allegedly over her decision to join a singing contest broadcast on national television, a media report said.

Mutlu Kaya was shot on Monday after the assailant broke into the garden of her house in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Kaya was seriously wounded by a bullet that went through her head. Her condition remains critical.

Kaya had recently joined a popular singing contest where she successfully completed the contest’s pre-selection and caught the attention of Sibel Can, a famous Turkish singer.

State-run Turkish daily Posta reported on April 17 that the young contestant started receiving death threats from her father’s tribe in Diyarbakir after joining the competition.

“When they heard that I was going to join the competition, they told me they would kill me. I am afraid,” the report quoted Kaya as saying.