Two days before he was beaten to death on the campus of Patna University’s Law College, Harsh Raj, 22, had expressed excitement about casting his vote for the very first time from Vaishali Lok Sabha constituency. Exercising his franchise from his hometown, Majhauli village, Raj was among the first ones to queue up outside the polling booth on the morning of May 25, and had excitedly shown off his inked finger and posed for pictures after.
After coming home from the booth, he had chatted with his grandfather and mother for a while, telling them about his plans to buy a black SUV. “He was close to those two. He and I spoke less,” says his father, Ajit Kumar, who works for a local daily. Raj had returned to Patna that same evening on his beloved black motorcycle, saying his goodbyes ahead of his exam the next day.
On May 27, the final-year undergraduate student appeared for his exam at the Law College campus on Ashok Rajpath Road, about 1.5 km away from his own college, the Bihar National College. He was one step closer to finishing his three-year Functional English (Honours) course. But while walking back to his motorcycle along with a friend, Bhanu Kumar, he was met by a group of seven or eight students, who thrashed him with iron rods, hockey sticks and bricks near the auditorium of the college. While his friend fled the scene, several others, including some employees of the college and other students, allegedly watched the violence play out, but did not intervene. Eventually, Raj fell unconscious.
Raj showing off his inked finger and voter ID after exercising his franchise for the first time. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
After the gang of attackers ran away, some classmates took Raj to the Patna Medical College and Hospital, situated about a kilometre away. But the doctors there declared him dead.
“When we came out after the exam, a group of people armed with hockey sticks and rods attacked us. I was also hit by bricks but ran away. Harsh also tried to run, but he collided with a tree and fell. Within that time, the men, who had masked up to hide their identities, had beaten him to death,” recalls Bhanu.
“Had someone had the courage to step in and rescue Harsh instead of just watching, my friend would have been alive today,” adds another classmate, Nikhil Kumar.
Political ambitions
Raj was popular among the university’s students for his forthcoming and helpful nature. He often distributed leaflets bearing his contact details among the students for “any help” they might need, said his classmates.
One of the leaflets, seen by The Hindu, featured a picture of him and his friend Saayan Kunal, who is the husband of Shambhavi Choudhary, one of the youngest candidates who contested and won the Lok Sabha elections from the reserved Samastipur seat on a Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) ticket. Raj’s Facebook account was flooded with pictures of him campaigning for Ms. Choudhary in the run-up to polling on May 13, in the fourth phase of the election.
“Harsh Raj always stood firmly with me as a brother during the election campaign, and even before that. The culprits should be identified and arrested as soon as possible,” the MP-elect said after the incident.
Her father Ashok Choudhary, a Janata Dal (United) Minister in the Bihar Cabinet, also posted a picture of himself and Raj on social media, saying that he was in touch with the authorities regarding the alleged murder.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav too condemned the incident, and slammed the NDA government in Bihar over the “miserable law and order situation” in the State.
“Our son was nursing political ambitions, and wanted to contest the Patna University Students’ Union (PUSU) polls, likely to be held in November this year. He later wanted to become an MLA and MP,” Ajit recalls. “But I always told him not to harbour such fantasies and to focus on his studies,” he says.
Raj’s friends told The Hindu over the phone that the student will be remembered for his “unmatched drive for social work”.
“During the pandemic, he went to his village and provided relief to migrants. He helped in whatever way he could. He was a gem of a person with high political ambitions,” says Ravi Ranjan.
Other friends add that Raj also ran a social organisation, Lok Nayak Yuva Parishad, and the rising popularity of the outfit is what sparked the jealousy of other students.
“The perpetrators should not have attacked him like this. He did nothing wrong. It was only because of his popularity among the students that he was killed. It was such a trivial thing,” adds Ramnik Raj.
Nikhil says Raj’s personality was “infectious”, and adds that the onlookers on the day of the crime are “equally responsible” for his murder.
‘Irreplaceable loss’
Raj was the only son. His younger sister Rosy Kashyap, a student of Class 10 in the village, is inconsolable after his death. “She keeps waiting for her brother to come home. The two were very close. Watching her grieve for him is emotionally draining,” the father says, his voice heavy with emotion.
Having completed his primary education from Lalganj St. Paul’s School in the village, Raj had moved to a rented accommodation in Patna and was running a hostel, RPS Boys Hostel, in the area to earn some money on the side. Bimal Mahto, the cook at the hostel, remembers him as the “kind and well-mannered” owner who always paid his salary on time.
“Harsh was unlike all other hostel owners. He would often knock on our doors to ask if we had any problems, and would try to solve our issues immediately if we told him something,” says a boarder, Aditya Raj.
The boys’ hostel run by Raj. | Photo Credit: AMARNATH TEWARY
The future of the hostel now hangs in the balance. “If his family members or friends take over, I suppose I can keep working here. But who knows,” says Mahto.
Arrests so far
The FIR, filed at Sultanganj police station, was lodged against unknown persons. So far, the police have arrested three students — Aman Patel alias Aman Kumar from Maner, Chandan Yadav from the university hostel, and Prakrit Anand alias Aarush from Begusarai — while another, Ravish Kumar alias Rahul from Gaya, has surrendered, says Bharat Soni, Patna SP (East), adding that they hope to nab two more accused — Mayank from Supaul and Shivam from Madhepura — in the next few days.
“A Special Investigation Team (SIT) was immediately formed to nab the accused and raids are being launched at different locations to arrest those involved in the ghastly crime. Three or four other students have also been identified,” Soni says.
According to the police, during interrogation, some of the accused revealed that Raj, along with two or three others, had an altercation with Aman and Ravish at a dandiya (dance) night organised at Miller High School ground on Dussehra last year, resulting in the two sustaining head injuries. Aman and Ravish had rounded up some friends and attacked Raj in order to take revenge.
Following Raj’s murder, the university gave orders to close down all colleges, and for all students to vacate their hostels by May 31. The university will now likely reopen on June 30, after the summer vacation ends.
“The entire administration is shocked that a boy died on campus. I urge the police to identify those responsible and take strong action against them,” Vice-Chancellor K.C. Sinha had said at the time, adding that all ongoing examinations have been cancelled until further notice.
Bihar Governor and university Chancellor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar also took cognisance of the incident, and asked university authorities to take strong action to ensure that such incidents are not repeated on campus.
Fading legacy
Several political leaders have graduated from Patna University, including RJD chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad, current Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, BJP national president J.P. Nadda, and late State BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi. But the university, which was once known as the “Oxford of the East”, has since seen a deterioration in stature, with frequent incidents of hooliganism dotting the campus. The hostels too have become dens for criminals, and witness frequent police raids.
“Today, most of the meritorious students from Patna migrate to other places to study instead of taking admission at Patna University considering the decline in its academic atmosphere,” rues a former student, Hitendra Anupam, adding that the death of a student on campus signifies “the worst ebb possible”.
Meanwhile, Raj’s family is still struggling to come to terms with the sudden and violent loss of their son. “We are haunted by his death. He continues to live on in our memory every day,” says his father.
