Students protest at BHU as assailants open fire at Birla Hostel inmate

Three motorcycle- borne assailants allegedly opened fire at a final, year undergraduate student of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi on Saturday night while he was with a friend at the entrance of his hostel. Subsequently, the students protested at the hostel gate and road blockade, calling for stringent action against the attackers as well as the warden and others for allegedly neglecting the safety of the campus.

The victim, Roshan Mishra, 26, who escaped uninjured, claimed that he was able to evade by running inside the Birla A Hostel, where he lives. It was after the firing incident that the other hostel inmates came out, but the attackers had already fled the spot, the police said.

“Mishra handed over four empty cartridges that were allegedly used in the firing at him. Efforts are underway to arrest the accused,” said Raj Kumar Sharma, Station House Officer of Lanka police station.

The police suspect that the incident occurred due to a clash for supremacy within the university, and believe that the attack on Mishra was a fallout of an old dispute between two groups.

On receiving information about the protest, university officers and police personnel rushed to the spot. The blockade was lifted after the authorities assured the students that appropriate action would be taken

Based on a complaint filed by Mishra, the police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) at Lanka police station against five people, including current and former students of the university, on charges of attempt to murder.

In his complaint, Roshan Mishra has named three students — Piyush Tiwari, Rishabh, and Tapas — along with two former students, Kshitiz Upadhyay and Abhishek Upadhyay.

During the preliminary inquiry, the police learnt that Mishra had been booked last month for allegedly attacking Piyush Tiwari — one of the accused in the present case — following a dispute. Tiwari had reportedly sustained an injury to his head in that incident.