ROHTAK, June 12 — Mr Rajesh Dahiya, alias Raju Dahiya, secretary of the Jat Education Society, and his friend Jitender were shot dead in broad daylight on the campus of C.R. Polytechnic here today.

He had gone to the polytechnic to take part in the meeting of the managing committee of the society which runs at least eight prestigious educational institutions, including the World Bank funded polytechnic. The other institutions run by the society are two high schools, a public school, separate colleges for boys and girls, C.R. College of Education for Girls and a primary school.

The police believes Raju Dahiya had fallen victim to inter-gang rivalry between the Delhi-based Anup and Kishen gangs. He was said to be an associate of the Anup gang but was not directly involved in any crime.

The Senior Superintendent of Police, Mr P.K. Aggarwal, said members of the Kishen gang led by Kapil were involved in today’s murders. The type of weapons used and the modus operandi of the crime has led the police to draw this conclusion, he said.

The incident took place when Raju Dahiya was reportedly talking to certain acquaintances after a meeting. Four persons armed with pistols and automatic weapons, it is said, surrounded him and shot him at close range in the temple.

Jitender, one of Dahiya’s friends, reportedly grappled with one of the assailants but was also shot in the temple. None of the persons present on the spot except Jitender dared to challenge the assailants.

The profusely bleeding Raju Dahiya was immediately after the shooting taken to the nearby medical college and hospital but the doctors there declared him brought dead.

The police has recovered at least 10 empty cartridges of two different varieties. It is believed that some of them were fired from a pistol and others from an automatic weapon. The assailants, said to be five in number and in their twenties, escaped in a white Maruti car towards Delhi after committing the crime. The Maruti car reportedly had DL 1C 6586 or DL 7C 6586 registration number. There is confusion about whether it was ‘IC’ or ‘7 C’.