On her way to college, woman lecturer shot dead in MP by ‘masked man’

“Before he pulled out a pistol, the man greeted Mali with a hello, which she responded to positively. After shooting her, the man pushed her down,” police station in-charge B L Atode said. (Representational Image)

A 30-year old woman lecturer was shot dead by a masked man from point blank range when she was on her way to a college in Chhanera town in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh, police said Tuesday. A day after the incident, police announced a reward of Rs one lakh for anyone who has credible information about the motorcycle-borne assailant. “Kirti Mali was shot in head by a motorcycle-borne man when she was walking to the government polytechnic college, along with her colleagues, from Chhanera (Naya Harsud) railway station last morning,” said Naya Harsud police station in-charge B L Atode.

Mali, a resident of Ramnagar in Khandwa, used to travel daily by train along with her colleagues from Khandwa to Chhanera, a distance of nearly 38 kms, he said. When Mali was walking with her colleagues, a man riding a motorcycle stopped near here, called her name and shot her in head with a pistol, the officer said.

“Before he pulled out a pistol, the man greeted Mali with a hello, which she responded to positively. After shooting her, the man pushed her down,” Atode said, adding that before her colleagues could react the man fled the spot. Her colleagues then called up an ambulance and were taking Mali to Khandwa when she died, the officer said.

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Meanwhile, the deceased’s brother Rishiraj Mali alleged that Mali’s husband, an Army personnel currently posted in Punjab, was behind the killing. “My sister was separated from her husband over a dispute. He had threatened to kill my sister and other family members after she lodged a dowry case against him in May 2016,” Rishiraj claimed.

Announcing the reward, Superintendent of Police Navnit Bhasin said special teams are constituted to trace the accused. A case was against the unidentified person.