An evening walk that usually brought calm ended in sudden violence at Aligarh Muslim University, where a school teacher was shot dead inside the campus, leaving students and staff shaken and searching for answers.

The victim, Danish Rao, had spent more than a decade teaching computer science at ABK Union High School, affiliated with AMU. On Wednesday night, shortly before 9 pm, he was near the university’s central library area, a space frequented daily by faculty and students alike.

According to police, Rao was accompanied by colleagues when two men arrived on a scooter and stopped near them. What followed unfolded in seconds. The attackers pointed pistols at the group and addressed Rao directly. One of them allegedly said, “You don’t know me yet, now you will,” while another version recorded the words, “Danish, now you will know me.”

Gunshots rang out moments later.

Rao was hit multiple times, including twice in the head. He collapsed at the spot as the assailants fled into the night. Panic spread across the area as people rushed to help and alerted authorities.

He was immediately taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College for emergency treatment. Doctors, however, could not save him and declared him dead on arrival.

AMU Proctor Mohd Wasim Ali confirmed the sequence of events, saying, “Around 9 pm, we received information that there had been a shooting near the library and that a man had been injured and was being taken for medical treatment. We learned the man who had been shot was Danish Rao and that he was a teacher at the ABK School. He was shot in the head… He died at the medical college.”

Later in the night, Vice Chancellor Naima Khatoon reached the hospital and assured that firm action would follow.

Senior police officials said the shooting occurred within the Civil Lines police station limits. SSP Neeraj Jadon and SP Mayank Pathak stated that multiple investigation teams have been deployed. CCTV footage from inside and outside the campus is being examined, and officers are exploring all possible motives, including personal enmity.

Investigators have begun questioning the victim’s family members and colleagues. The attackers remain unidentified.

The killing has sent shockwaves through the AMU campus, triggering anxiety among students and faculty over safety within the university. The incident came on the same day the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister spoke publicly about improvements in the state’s law-and-order situation, adding to the unease surrounding the crime.

Police said further details would emerge as the investigation progresses.