New Delhi: A young college girl was shot
dead on Tuesday outside a college in full public glare and an
elderly woman strangled in her house in Delhi within hours of
the incident, exposing the vulnerability of the fair sex in
the city.
The two incidents, ironically, came on a day when the
city was celebrating International Women`s Day, causing
outrage among citizens as well as political leaders, leading
to a protest by students blocking traffic on the Ring Road.
While the 21-year-old degree student`s murder is
suspected to be the handiwork of a "stalker", the 70-year-old
woman, whose lawyer-daughter is fighting for Rajesh and Nupur
Talwar in the sensational Aarushi murder case, is believed to
be strangled during a robbery bid.
Radhika Tanwar, a second-year student, was shot dead
outside Ramlal Anand College in Dhaula Kuan`s Shantiniketan
area at around 10:20 am by an unidentified man who is believed
to be trailing her for sometime.
She and her friends crossed the road after alighting
from the bus and used the foot overbridge to reach her
college. As she stepped down from the bridge, a man opened
fire at her from behind and fled the scene.
Police immediately received a call about the incident
and later another informing that a mobile phone had burst near
her ear. She was shot near the spinal cord below her neck.
"There were around five students near the scene of the
crime but they did not realise what was happening. They
thought that someone had burst crackers. He deliberately chose
that place because of the congestion and noise in the
atmosphere," a senior police official said.
Initially nobody understood what happened and after a
few seconds they saw the girl collapsing with blood oozing out
of her body. Some people ran away from the spot.
Her friends and locals rushed her to Safdurjung
Hospital on an autorickshaw. She was declared brought dead at
the hospital.
The motive behind the incident is being investigated,
the police official said, adding that they suspect the hand of
a "stalker" in the murder.
"We are investigating all angles. It could be a case
of a stalker committing the murder. But we cannot say anything
now as the investigations are at the initial stages," he said.
The second incident was reported from east Delhi`s
Vivek Vihar this afternoon. Anna Mammen, a retired teacher and
the mother of lawyer Rebbeca Mammen John who is appearing for
the Talwars in the case, was alone at home when the attackers
entered the house and attacked her, the official said.
Investigators suspect it to be a case of robbery cum
murder as some articles were found missing from the house.
"She might have resisted the robbery attempt which led
to the murder. However, we are not sure about this. We are
investigating all angles," the official said.
The girl`s family said she left home for college at
around 9:15 am. "She never told us that she was facing
problems from somebody. We don`t know anything and we don`t
suspect anybody as of now," Vipin, the girl`s brother, said.
Radhika`s father Rajender Singh, a property dealer,
said, "I have no clue what`s happening. I don`t know who could
have done this to my daughter. She had no enmity with anyone."
H G S Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South),
said, "it appears that the girl was specifically targeted
with an intention to kill her. There was no attempt to snatch
her money or purse."
The attacker appeared to be known to the victim and
was trailing her, he said.
The incident has caused outrage in the city, which was
celebrating International Women`s Day, and again raised
questions over the law and order situation in the capital.
Angry over the murder of the student, a large number
of students in Delhi University south campus staged a protest
demonstration against the lack of security for students and
blocked the Ring Road. Some locals also joined the protest.
This is the second incident involving a student`s
death inside or just outside the campus in the past about a
month.
On February 4, a 21-year-old BA student was found dead
under mysterious circumstances in Satyawati College in north-
east Delhi`s Ashok Vihar with his alleging that he was
murdered and hanged by the family of girl with whom he had a
relationship.
The girl`s murder evoked strong reactions from MPs,
including RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, who condemned the
incident.
Expressing concern over killing of the girl, Delhi
Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said she has taken up the case
with the police commissioner. "I have expressed my great
concern. I talked to the police commissioner. We are going
into it," she said.
Earlier, addressing a function in the presence of
Commissioner B K Gupta, Dikshit said it was a matter of shame
that women feel insecure in the capital of the country.
Reacting to the murder, Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh`s wife Gursharan Kaur said crimes against women are a
"cause for concern" and incidents like the broad daylight
murder of a girl outside her college in the city are "sad and
shameful".
"This is a sad and shameful incident. Such incidents
should be condemned and whosoever have done it should be
punished. I hope that man will be captured and action taken
against him," Kaur said.
Congress MP from West Delhi Mahabal Mishra pointed
fingers at the Union Home Ministry saying it was directly
responsible for the incident as Delhi Police, which has to
ensure safety of the people of the city, comes under it.
PTI
