PhD scholar shot dead in Meerut

Police said two students of the same university, Neeraj Malik and Nitin Kasana, came to the hostel around 11.30 am today on a motorcycle and shot dead Gujjar who was sitting in the lawns of the hostel. ‘‘Both parties were involved in a dispute over the sale of a plot worth Rs 25 lakh. We have obtained documentary evidence in this regard,’’ said the SSP.

Police then obtained information on the killers and, around 6 pm, a team conducted a raid on the house of Neeraj Malik in a residential colony. Sources said the accused and Neeraj’s father Satbir Singh Tomar mistook the plain-clothed police for supporters of Gujjar who had come to take revenge and opened fire on the cops.

SSP Sekera however denies this. ‘‘There was a Special Operations Group team of four plain-clothed policemen, but there were five other policemen in uniform too. Police repeatedly knocked at the door and then entered the house,’’ says Sekera.

Police said while Neeraj and Nitin fired at the police from the first floor of the house, Tomar fired at the police from the ground floor with his 12-bore gun. One of his bullets hit SOG constable Parveen Giri in the chest killing him. ‘‘In retaliatory fire, Tomar was killed,’’ said the SSP. The two accused meanwhile managed to escape by jumping off the first floor. ‘‘We are hunting for them,’’ added Sekera.

Meanwhile, students went on a rampage inside the university campus following the murder of Gujjar. Irate students blocked the Tejgarhi crossing and pelted passing vehicles, including state transport buses, with stones. The protesting students claimed the campus had become unsafe as authorities had failed to check anti-social elements.