india

Updated: Apr 03, 2019 12:33 IST

Four people have been taken into custody and were interrogated by police in Varanasi after a Banaras Hindu University (BHU) student died after being shot at by unidentified motorcycle-borne men inside the campus on Tuesday evening, sources said on Wednesday.

Gaurav Singh, a second-year student of MCA, was talking to his friends in the evening when the men opened fire at him, police said. He had been suspended by the university administration last year for his alleged role in violence in the campus in December 2017 in protest against the arrest of a student. Gaurav was named in the case.

Station officer of the Lanka police station Bharat Bhushan Tiwari said that a case has been registered against five people by their names and three unidentified under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) following the complaint by Gaurav’s father Rakesh Prasad Singh and further investigation is on.

Police said Gaurav’s father filed the complaint against BHU’s chief proctor Prof Royana Singh, Ashutosh Tripathi, Rupesh Tiwari, Mangalam, Vinay Dwivedi and three unidentified people in connection with his son’s death.

They said Rakesh Prasad Singh alleged that Prof Royana Singh was involved in hatching the conspiracy to kill his son, while seven others including, Ashutosh Tripathi, Rupesh Tiwari, Mangalam, Vinay Dwivedi, fired indiscriminately at Gaurav.

Police said Singh suffered bullet injuries in the stomach and chest and was rushed to the trauma centre of BHU’s Institute of Medical Sciences by his hostel inmates. He underwent surgery to remove the bullets but succumbed to the injuries during treatment.

Gaurav’s body was sent for a post-mortem examination after which it was cremated at the Harishchandra Ghat amid the presence of heavy police force.

The situation in the BHU campus is tense but under control, police said, as students carrying posters shut the main gate and demanded justice for Gaurav.

A heavy police force has been deployed at the trauma centre and BHU’s main gate as a preventive measure, senior superintendent of police Sureshrao Anand Kulkarni said.

The BHU administration declared a holiday on Wednesday to express grief over Gaurav’s death. BHU spokesperson Dr Rajesh Singh said that the decision was taken in a late night meeting at the residence of BHU vice-chancellor Prof Rakesh Bhatnagar.