New Delhi: A young college girl was shot dead today outside a college in full public glare and an elderly woman strangled in her house in Delhi within hours of the incident, exposing the vulnerability of the fair sex in the city.

The two incidents, ironically, came on a day when the city was celebrating International Women's Day, causing outrage among citizens as well as political leaders, leading to a protest by students blocking traffic on the Ring Road.

While the 21-year-old degree student's murder is suspected to be the handiwork of a 'stalker', the 70-year-old woman, whose lawyer-daughter is fighting for Rajesh and Nupur Talwar in the sensational Aarushi murder case, is believed to be strangled during a robbery bid.

Radhika Tanwar, a second-year student, was shot dead outside Ramlal Anand College in Dhaula Kuan's Shantiniketan area at around 10:20 am by an unidentified man who is believed to be trailing her for sometime.

She and her friends crossed the road after alighting from the bus and used the foot overbridge to reach her college. As she stepped down from the bridge, a man opened fire at her from behind and fled the scene.

Police immediately received a call about the incident and later another informing that a mobile phone had burst near her ear. She was shot near the spinal cord below her neck.

"There were around five students near the scene of the crime but they did not realise what was happening. They thought that someone had burst crackers. He deliberately chose that place because of the congestion and noise in the atmosphere," a senior police official said.

Initially, nobody understood what happened and after a few seconds they saw the girl collapsing with blood oozing out of her body. Some people ran away from the spot. Her friends and locals rushed her to Safdurjung Hospital on an autorickshaw. She was declared brought dead at the hospital.

The motive behind the incident is being investigated, the police official said, adding that they suspect the hand of a 'stalker' in the murder.

"We are investigating all angles. It could be a case of a stalker committing the murder. But we cannot say anything now as the investigations are at the initial stages," he said.

The second incident was reported from east Delhi's Vivek Vihar this afternoon. Anna Mammen, a retired teacher and the mother of lawyer Rebbeca Mammen John who is appearing for the Talwars in the case, was alone at home when the attackers entered the house and attacked her, the official said.

Investigators suspect it to be a case of robbery cum murder as some articles were found missing from the house.

"She might have resisted the robbery attempt which led to the murder. However, we are not sure about this. We are investigating all angles," the official said.

Meanwhile, Radhika Tanwar's family said she left home for college at around 9:15 am.

"She never told us that she was facing problems from somebody. We don't know anything and we don't suspect anybody as of now," Vipin, the girl's brother, said.

Radhika's father Rajender Singh, a property dealer, said, "I have no clue what's happening. I don't know who could have done this to my daughter. She had no enmity with anyone."

H.G.S Dhaliwal, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South), said, "it appears that the girl was specifically targeted with an intention to kill her. There was no attempt to snatch her money or purse."

This is the second incident involving a student's death inside or just outside the campus in the past about a month. On February 4, a 21-year-old BA student was found dead under mysterious circumstances in Satyawati College in north- east Delhi's Ashok Vihar with his alleging that he was murdered and hanged by the family of girl with whom he had a relationship.
The girl's murder evoked strong reactions from MPs, including RJD leader Lalu Prasad Yadav, who condemned the incident. Expressing concern over killing of the girl, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said she has taken up the case with the police commissioner.

"I have expressed my great concern. I talked to the police commissioner. We are going into it," she said.

Earlier, addressing a function in the presence of Commissioner B.K. Gupta, Dikshit said it was a matter of shame that women feel insecure in the capital of the country. Reacting to the murder, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur said crimes against women are a 'cause for concern' and incidents like the broad daylight murder of a girl outside her college in the city are 'sad and shameful'.

"This is a sad and shameful incident. Such incidents should be condemned and whosoever have done it should be punished. I hope that man will be captured and action taken against him," Kaur said.

Congress MP from West Delhi Mahabal Mishra pointed fingers at the Union Home Ministry saying it was directly responsible for the incident as Delhi Police, which has to ensure safety of the people of the city, comes under it.