Krishnanagar police are looking for Deshraj Singh, the primary suspect in the murder of 19-year-old college student Ishita Mallick. The murder took place inside her home in Manikpara on Sunday afternoon.

According to police, an initial post-mortem report said Mallick died of three gunshot wounds to the head, two on the right side and third at the back, and a bullet was recovered from her skull during the examination. Her body was released to her family on Monday afternoon, officials added.

Police said, according to an official statement,  Mallick’s mother and brother were returning home when they saw Singh leaving her room. When the mother tried to stop him, he allegedly pushed her aside and fled. Mallick’s grandfather was in the lower part of the house at the time.

More than 24 hours after the killing, the suspect remains at large. A police team has been dispatched to Uttar Pradesh to assist in the search, Krishnanagar officers said. Investigators are also examining CCTV footage and interviewing witnesses as they piece together the sequence of events.

According to police, Singh and Mallick were former classmates in Kanchrapara and had known each other. After Mallick passed her Class 12 exams, her family moved her back to Krishnanagar and contact between the two had waned. Authorities said that Singh was expelled from his school in 2022 after an incident in which he allegedly assaulted a classmate.