A 21-year-old girl was shot dead in broad daylight outside Delhi University’s Ramlal Anand College in south Delhi’s Dhaula Kuan area on Monday morning.
The incident took place at around 10.15 pm when the victim, Radhika Tanwar, a BA second-year student, was intercepted and shot by an unidentified assailant near a
footbridge in Shantiniketan area while she was on the way to college. Sources said the assailant came up from behind and shot her in the back. The bullet hit remained lodged in the body. Locals tried to catch the assailant on hearing the gunshot but he escaped.
The girl was rushed to Safdarjung Hospital in a rickshaw where doctors declared her brought dead. The incident, which happened on “International Women’s Day”, triggered protests near Delhi University’s South Campus by angry students and locals, who demanded the immediate arrest of the assailant and blocked traffic for some time. Senior police officials tried to pacify the angry protesters and normal traffic resumed soon.
Joint commissioner of police (south) Amulya Patnaik said, “Robbery or snatching as a motive behind the killing have been more or less ruled out. So far it appears to be a case of a love affair, which could be one-sided, and it appears that the assailant was known to the victim. We are recording the statements of her friends and family. Further investigations are on.” The police said the motive behind the incident is being investigated, adding that they suspect the involvement of a stalker in the murder though no arrests have been made.
Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit came down heavily on Delhi police commissioner B.K. Gupta at a function, asking him to make the capital “more safe” for women rather than talking about low crime figures. “It is a matter of shame that women do not feel secure in the capital of the country. We invited you here to convey our great concern over the feeling of insecurity among the women in the city. Leaving aside the statistics, I want to ask you, do we feel safe in the city? If women in the capital do not feel secure and safe, then is it not a matter of shame,” she said.
NCW chairperson Girija Vyas termed the incident as a “sad” one while denouncing police inaction. “I condemn the incident. Why are such incidents recurring? What is the police doing,” she said.
CPI(M) politburo member Brinda Karat said, “It is a very sad incident. The incident took place when we are talking about women’s empowerment and celebrating Women’s Day.”