MEERUT: Tension prevailed in parts of this town on Wednesday as students protested against the murder of a Ph.D. scholar and an angry mob vandalised the District Magistrate's residence. Apprehending escalation of tension, the district administration ordered indefinite closure of Chaudhary Charan Singh University where the scholar, Sanjeev Gujjar, was gunned down by two assailants on Tuesday.

The authorities have also ordered vacation of the R. K. Hostel within two days. A large crowd, which was protesting the death of local lawyer Dheeraj Malik in police action following Gujjar's killing, vandalised District Magistrate Mukesh Meshram's official residence at 3-30 p.m., breaking flower pots and some windows, officials said.

Mr. Meshram, who was in the house at the time, assured the protesters that police would take action against the five plainclothesmen who were involved in the incident in which Dheeraj was killed.

A police team investigating Gujjar's killing had raided the residence of a young man named Neeraj Malik where shots were allegedly fired by his father. One constable was killed in the firing, while Neeraj's father was shot dead by the police. Lawyers in the Meerut circle, which includes the districts of Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Muzaffarnagar, and Meerut, went on strike on Wednesday, leading to the closure of courts in the region.

The lawyers' association termed the killing of Dheeraj Malik as ``unjust'' and demanded a compensation of Rs. 25 lakh for his next of kin.

Our Special Correspondent in Lucknow adds:

While the police groped in the dark on the whereabouts of Nitin Kasana and Neeraj Malik, accused in the murder of Sanjeev Gujjar, State Home Secretary R. M. Srivastava said in the State capital that raids had been conducted at several places to nab Malik and Kasana. He said eight police teams had been constituted for the purpose.

Giving details of the day's incidents at the Meerut District Collectorate and the DM's residence, he said the body of Satyaveer Malik - Neeraj Malik's father who was shot dead in retaliatory firing by the police -- was first taken to the Collectorate where the mourners held a condolence meeting. Later the procession moved towards the DM's residence where they staged a dharna and refused to cremate Malik till an FIR was lodged against the cops. According to Mr. Srivastava, the mob dispersed only after a copy of the FIR was given to them at around 4 p.m. The FIR was lodged by the deceased's widow, Kamlesh Malik, against Pradeep Yadav and 25 to 30 other persons. Yadav ostensibly is a policeman and the Home Secretary said his rank was being ascertained. No arrests have been made.

Violence had erupted in Meerut on Tuesday after the university student, Sanjeev, was gunned down allegedly by Neeraj Malik and Nitin Kasana in what was said to be the fall-out of a property dispute. The police said the deceased and the accused were engaged in property business. On getting the news of the killing, university students went berserk, damaging public and private property.

The Home Department spokesman said that on Tuesday night when the police raided Neeraj Malik's residence, his father Satyaveer Malik fired on the police party, killing a constable, Praveen Giri. He said the elder Malik was killed in the return fire by the police. No compensation has been announced for the dead constable. The official described the situation as tense but under control.

Incidentally, when violence broke out in Meerut, the SSP, Navniet Sekera, was not in town. He had gone to Varanasi and returned late at night.

PTI adds from New Delhi:

The Delhi Bar Association, condemning the death of a lawyer allegedly in police firing at Meerut following the murder of a student, on Wednesday demanded immediate arrest of the guilty and an enquiry by a sitting judge of the High Court.

Regretting the shootout, DBA secretary Sanjeev Nasiar said: "We strongly condemn the brutal killing of advocate Satyaveer Malik by the police... . It seems the total machinery of law and justice has collapsed and the situation is worsening due to mishandling of the incident by the police.''

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