Varsity clash kills 23-yr-old student

Police said Rai, a student of PG Diploma in Media Writing was not contesting in the upcoming elections. ‘‘He was simply sitting in the tent in support of his friend Ranjit Singh Vaghel, who is contesting for the post of president and stays in the same hostel,’’ said SI Vinod Sengar, in-charge, Lucknow University police post.

Police said trouble had been brewing between Jai Prakash Singh and Praveen Kumar Singh Rajju, both presidential candidates and residents of the Chandrashekhar Azad hostel. The tents of Singh, Rajju and Vaghel were pitched alongside each other at the hostel. Around 11 pm, as a grand dinner feast was on for hostellers, supporters of Singh and Rajju had an argument and were soon firing at each other. One bullet hit Rai.

‘‘He collapsed and students rushed him to the King George’s Medical College (KGMC). He was however, declared brought dead,’’ a police official said.

Though a case of murder has been registered, no arrests have been made. The incident comes close on the heels of Sunday night’s encounter in which, a noted gangster Vicky Bhatt, was shot dead by police while he was allegedly on his way to kill a student leader.