Patna University expelled a student on Wednesday who was arrested in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old BN College student, beaten to death on the Patna Law College campus on Monday.
“Aditya Raj, also known as Chandan Kumar, a sixth-semester mass communications student at Patna College, has been expelled. Additionally, the university has decided to withhold his results until further notice,” stated a notification from Patna University.
In a separate directive, the university ordered all male students to vacate the hostels by 4 pm on May 31, stating that all hostels would remain closed until further notice.
Harsh Raj, a 22-year-old final-year BA student, was attacked by 7-8 masked men on May 27 as he exited an examination center on the law college campus. He was taken to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) where he later died.
Harsh Raj’s father, Ajit Kumar, a journalist with a Hindi daily, has called for a CBI investigation, alleging that his son was killed due to a political conspiracy, as Harsh had planned to run in the university elections.
A special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the murder, conducting searches at multiple locations in Patna and Nalanda districts, including Patna University hostels, to apprehend the other suspects.
“During interrogation, the prime accused revealed the names of five others involved while he did not know the names of three other criminals. The motive behind the murder was a dispute from a Dandia night event last year,” said senior superintendent of police (SSP) Rajeev Mishra.
City SP (East) Bharat Soni stated that police conducted searches at five hostels but did not find the suspects.
According to police, Chandan and his associates confronted Harsh on May 24, leading to a heated argument. “They gathered near Patna Law College on the morning of May 27, and as Harsh left the examination hall, they attacked him with sticks,” Soni said.
