Ranchi, Jan 20 (IANS) Suspected Maoist Guerrillas gunned down a 19-year-old college student in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand, police said Wednesday.

According to the police, Malinder Singh, a student of class XII at Chandil college in Jamshedpur, was shot dead near Bodam village in the district while he was returning to his home at Khorko.

'It seems that Maoist rebels gunned down the student believing him to be a member of Gram Janarajya Panchayat Parishad - an anti-Maoist group formed by the villagers in rural areas. The group creates awareness and takes out processions against the Maoist movement,' a police officer told IANS.