College girl shot dead at friend’s flat, key suspect arrested
A 23-year-old college student was shot dead by her friend in Lucknow. The suspect, a property dealer with a criminal record, has been apprehended. The incident occurred during a gathering at the suspect's rented flat. The victim had recently connected with the suspect on Instagram. The college clarified that the incident had no connection with any ongoing events at the campus.
LUCKNOW A 23-year-old college student was shot dead in the wee hours of Thursday by her friend at his rented flat in Dayal Residency at Faizabad road under the Chinhat Police station area of Lucknow.
Syed Ali Abbas, additional deputy commissioner of police (East), said, “A case of murder under IPC 302 has been registered at Chinhat police station, and the primary suspect, 27-year-old Aditya Pathak, a resident of Ballia, has been apprehended.” The police revealed that Aditya, a property dealer with a criminal record, had recently obtained bail in an extortion case.
The victim, identified as Nishtha Tripathi, was a student pursuing a BCom (Honours) degree at BBD College. She hailed from Hardoi. Reportedly, the incident occurred during a gathering at the apartment, with several students in attendance. Although liquor bottles were found in the premises, law enforcement officials denied the existence of a formal party.
Anindya Vikram Singh, ACP of Vibhuti Khand, stated, “The incident transpired in a rented flat where Aditya, a Ballia resident, had invited Nishtha. An altercation between them led to the fatal shooting, where the girl was struck above her right-side chest with a locally-made firearm, likely originating from Munger.”
Around 3:30 AM, Aditya’s friend, Monu, heard a gunshot and discovered Nishtha lying in a pool of blood. They rushed her to RMLIMS emergency, provided her parents’ contact information, and then fled after she was pronounced dead.
Subsequently, doctors attempted to contact the parents but received no response. However, at approximately 5:30 AM, when Nishtha’s mother, Santoshi, noticed missed calls, she rushed to Lucknow.
A memo regarding the gunshot injury death of a Chinhat-based university student was sent to the Vibhuti Khand police, who then transferred the case to Chinhat. A team was dispatched to the scene.
“An investigation has been launched, and all individuals present at the flat have been taken into custody for questioning,” Additional DCP Syed Ali Abbas added.
Preliminary findings indicate that the victim had recently connected with the accused via Instagram just ten days prior to the incident. According to the educational records of the deceased, the college revealed that Nishtha had a mere 2% attendance in her second year of BCom, and her only attendance in the third year was on the day the new class commenced.
Nishtha did not visit campus in one month: College
The college released a statement to clarify that the incident had no connection with the ongoing Ganesh Mahotsav - 2023 program at BBD University Campus, as the student had not attended the campus in over a month.
D.S.M.K. Rizvi, chief proctor and dean student welfare at BBD University, Lucknow, said, “The two friends mentioned in the FIR, Aditya Pathak and Monu, are not students of BBD University.”
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