The parents of an 18-year-old Indian-American student, Akul B. Dhawan, who tragically succumbed to hypothermia last weekend, have lodged a complaint against the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's police department, citing negligence in handling the situation. Akul, an electrical engineering student, went missing and was reported by his friend around 1:30 a.m. last Saturday. The university police discovered him almost 10 hours later on the back porch of a building near the west Urbana campus, exposed to extreme cold ranging from -20 to -30 degrees.
Ish and Ritu Dhawan expressed their distress, revealing that their son was found merely 400 feet away from the reported missing location, based on the tracking data from Akul's phone. The grieving parents accused the university police of negligence, prompting them to file a complaint regarding the handling of the search.
In an interview with The Gazette, Ish Dhawan shared his disbelief, stating, "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." The parents emphasized the need for answers, questioning the effectiveness of the search within the specified area and expressing skepticism that their son might have been found if a thorough search had been conducted.
Akul Dhawan defied his parents' wishes to study closer to home in California and pursued his passion for robotics at the University of Illinois. The investigation into the cause of his death involves the campus police, Illinois State Police, and the Champaign County Coroner’s Office. Preliminary findings by the University police suggest no foul play and point towards an accidental death.
The Champaign County Coroner’s Office conducted an initial autopsy on Tuesday, revealing signs of hypothermia without significant trauma. The final autopsy report is pending toxicology studies. The grieving family seeks closure and urges anyone with information related to the incident to contact the University of Illinois Police department.
(With Agency Inputs)
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