Meerut, Jan 24 (IANS): A 28-year-old student of a local college here was critically injured in a shootout on the road outside the main gate of Chaudhary Charan Singh University here on Thursday evening.

According to sources, victim Vishu Chikara is the son of a local teachers' union leader, Ram Bharat Chikara.

Vishu was waylaid by assailants who came in a car and opened fire at him before fleeing. The youth was hit by a bullet near his chest. He was rushed to a private hospital, where his condition continues to be critical.

SP city, Akhilesh Narain Singh said, "Police have begun primary investigation and are in the process of identifying the suspects. An FIR under section 307 (attempt to murder) has been registered at the Medical police station against five named suspects and some unnamed ones based on a complaint lodged by the victim's father."

The police are also trying to extract CCTV footage from the area to identify the culprits.

According to sources, Vishu, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Education (BE.d) course at Mahaveer College, is also a sportsperson and practices for shotput at the city stadium.

Earlier this month, he was involved in a scuffle with another sportsperson at the stadium. The shootout incident appears to be fallout of the ongoing rivalry.