Prank goes wrong, 19-year-old accidentally shot dead

In what appears to be a prank gone horribly wrong, a 19-year-old BCom student was shot dead at his rented accommodation by his flatmate.

The pistol belongs to a Delhi Police constable who was the third member sharing the two-bedroom flat in east Delhi’s Shakarpur.

The police said that the accused has claimed that the revolver went off accidentally while he was pointing it at his friend during a prank. Whether it was an accident or the fatal shot was fired deliberately is being investigated.

The 20-year-old youth Shashank who fired the weapon and constable Robin, 36, to whom the pistol had been allotted, have been arrested and booked for the death. The flat in Shakarpur’s School block was being shared by the victim Raghuvendra, Shashank and Robin for the last three years. Raghuvendra’s cousin Vipin was on a weekend visit to the flat and he was allegedly present at the time of the incident, said the police.

Raghuvendra was pursuing BCom from a Noida-based college while Shashank was enrolled as a B.Sc student at the same institute. Both were also preparing for chartered accountancy.

Robin arrived at his home from the police station at about 8 pm on Saturday to have his dinner. He put his pistol on the bed and went to the balcony with Vipin to have a chat. The accused and the victim were deciding on the menu when Shashank suddenly picked up the pistol and pointed it at Raghuvendra.

“Shashank has claimed that he was joking that Raghuvendra had become naughty of late. The loaded revolver suddenly went off, hitting the victim between his eyes,” a police officer told this newspaper.

Raghuvendra immediately collapsed on the floor. The other three then rushed him to Safdarjung Hospital where he died. The body was handed over to his family after a post-mortem and it was taken to his hometown in Uttar Pradesh’s Balliya district. The accused Shashank hails from the same area.