Greater Noida: Varsity student shoots dead woman classmate, later dies by suicide

A third-year student of Shiv Nadar University in Greater Noida allegedly shot and killed his woman classmate on campus on Thursday before shooting himself dead at the boys’ hostel, police said, adding that both the deceased were aged 21 years and were third-year students of BA Sociology.

“Around 1.30pm on Thursday, the administrative officials of Shiv Nadar University alerted the police that a woman student was shot dead by her classmate outside the dining hall on the university campus. The woman student, identified as Sneha Chaurasia, who hailed from Kanpur, was immediately rushed to Yatharth Hospital in Greater Noida where she was declared brought dead,” said SM Khan, deputy commissioner of police, Greater Noida.

Both Chaurasia and the male student were residing on campus in the girls’ and boys’ hostel, he said. After shooting dead his classmate, the male student went to the boys’ hostel and shot himself in the head, the DCP said.

“A countrymade pistol was recovered from the spot. The male student died on spot. A preliminary inquiry has found that both students were in a relationship since long but their relations soured recently,” Khan said.

The police informed the families of both students and sent the bodies for a post-mortem examination.

“The university is on summer break since May 17 but both students stayed back on campus after obtaining special permission from the university. The campus was largely empty when the incident happened as all students had gone home for the summer break. The deceased students’ semesters are almost over and they were going to graduate next month,” said a police investigator, adding that there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting.

The investigator said the incident was captured by the CCTV cameras in the dining hall. “The hall was locked but had glass doors. Both students met right outside around 1pm. The girls’ and boys’ hostels are located on either side of the hall. In the CCTV footage, the students could be seen hugging and exchanging words. The male student had brought along something to give to the woman, presumably a gift. She could be seen refusing the parcel, following which she was shot in the abdomen by the male student. She tried to fight the man on being shot but he shot her again and she collapsed. The man was then seen running towards the boys’ hostel,” said the investigator, asking not to be named.

The police are currently investigating where the student got the gun from and how he got the firearm inside the campus.

A spokesperson from Shiv Nadar University said, “We are deeply saddened and pained at the unfortunate loss of lives of two students of the university today. The matter is currently under investigation by the authorities, and we are closely monitoring the situation. All other residents of the campus are safe. Our utmost priority is the safety and well-being of our students, employees, and the entire community. We are fully cooperating with the authorities in their investigation. Our deep and heartfelt condolences go out to the affected families and we are supporting them in every way possible at this difficult time.”