Varanasi college student shot dead in campus clash; father demands accused's encounter, refuses cremation

Varanasi: A 23-year-old BA student at Uday Pratap College was shot dead Friday by a fellow student in a social sciences corridor over a personal dispute, sparking campus violence and protests as the victim's father refused cremation until police eliminate the accused in an encounter.

Surya Pratap Singh from Ghazipur, the only son of school employees Rishidev and Kiran Singh, succumbed at BHU Trauma Centre after initial treatment at a private hospital; eyewitnesses saw Manjeet Chauhan fire four rounds at his head and chest before fleeing via a boundary wall, discarding the pistol in a dump—later recovered by police.

Chaos erupted with students locking the main gate, vandalizing vehicles, and attacking three teachers—one with a head injury hospitalized under protection—as heavy police deployed to escort staff out.

Commissioner Mohit Agarwal called it "mutual enmity," registering cases against Chauhan and associate Anuj Thakur, both absconding amid raids, CCTV checks, and probes into an old rivalry or dominance fight.

At the postmortem house, Singh's father broke down, vowing no cremation without justice, leading to a tense standoff before taking the body home, raising alarms over campus gun security.