Fed up with the alleged harassment by a youth and the apathy of the police administration, a PhD scholar, Raina Dhir (22), a resident of Harcharan Nagar, Ludhiana, died under suspicious circumstances.To demand justice for their daughter, mother Seema Dhir, and other family members and relatives staged a dharna at CMC Chowk from 11 am to 5 pm on Tuesday. Throughout the protest, the grieving mother and family members kept appealing for justice. Leaders of various political parties reached the spot but the family alleged that they only came for a ‘’photo opportunity’’ and were not interested in extending justice.Deceased’s brother Rohan Dhir said Divansh Bagga had been harassing his sister for the past four months. On Monday night, the suspect created a ruckus outside their house and even opened fire, leaving the entire family terrified.On Tuesday morning, the family was on its way to the local MLA’s office to lodge a complaint about the previous night’s incident. Raina had wanted to accompany them but they asked her to stay at home. When the family members returned from the MLA’s office, they found Raina lying unconscious in a room on the upper floor. She was rushed to a private hospital. After initial treatment, doctors referred her to the CMCH, where she was declared brought dead. The enraged relatives then held a protest on the road.According to the kin of the deceased, the family had finalised Raina’s match elsewhere last month. The suspect, however, approached the boy’s family and told them that he was in a relationship with her. The engagement was consequently called off. Her mother said when they got the suspect’s background checked, it was found that he was running an illegal gambling and cricket betting racket and had a bad reputation in the area. Hence, her family firmly refused to consider any alliance with him. After the refusal, the suspect began stopping the girl on the way and threatening to abduct her.An uncle of the deceased said Seema had donated her kidney to save her husband’s life yet could not save him. Since then she had been single-handedly raising her two children and was worried about her daughter’s future. The family had repeatedly approached the local police station and the MLA, seeking protection but no concrete action was taken in time.On the statement of victim’s brother Rohan Dhir, the Police Division 3 registered an FIR against Divansh Bagga, his mother Kajol Bagga and brother Chinu Bagga.ACP Anil Bhanot, when asked about allegations of suspect Divansh Bagga that the girl’s brother had opened fire at him and also damaged his car, told the media that allegations were being verified and action would be taken as per law.