Parents of Akul Dhawan (18), an Indian-American student who was found dead last week near University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) campus have filed police complaint against the university for negligence. When his body was found, Akul Dhawan showed signs of hypothermia.
Akul went missing last Saturday (January 20) just before 1:30 am. After 10 hours, he was found dead on the back porch of a building near the university campus in west Urbana in the US state of Illinois.
USA Today cited University Police who said that Akul’s friends told them that he was missing for an hour.
The campus police are still investigating to find out exact cause of his death, the Illinois State Police and the Champaign County Coroner’s Office, said that preliminary findings of an autopsy performed on Tuesday showed signs of hypothermia.
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“The preliminary findings showed no evidence of significant trauma,” said the Champaign County Coroner in a news release. “There was evidence of hypothermic skin changes. The final autopsy report is pending toxicology studies.”
University police also say that “preliminary information suggests that there was no wrongdoing, and the death is initially believed to be accidental”.
Illinois and much of the American Midwest was struck by brutal cold in latter half of January. Wind chills made the temperature go 20 to 30 degrees below freezing
Akul’s parents have alleged that university’s police department was negligent. News-Gazette newspaper said that the parents have filed police complaint over the way the search was handled.
https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-students-protest-over-security-lapse-in-girls-hostel-claim-saw-hands-coming-out-of-the-ventilator-684357
Parents Ish Dhawan and Ritu Dhawan said that Akul was found just 400 feet from the location from where he was missing.
“This is bizarre, that a kid is never found who was just less than a block, like one minute away, sitting there, dead, frozen to death,” Ish Dhawan told the newspaper.
“Imagine what’s going through in our mind as a dad and mom. I visualise every minute that my son froze to death on a university campus.”
“We need answers,” his mother said. “What is the proof that they searched in this area, around the area they’re talking (about), this half-block? My kid would have been found.”
(With inputs from agencies)
