Police Say Indian Student Akul Dhawan Died of Hypothermia And Intoxication

An 18 year old student Akul Dhawan, student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, died last month in the United States of America. He reportedly died by freezing to death.

Police said that Akul Dhawan met his friends at the Busey-Evans Residence Hall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign around 9 pm on January 19. He consumed alcohol there.

At 10 pm he and his friends were at the Canopy Club, S Goodwin Avenue in Urbana.

At 10:45 pm they travelled to Green street. Video recordings show that he consumed more alcohol there.

Later, they returned to the Canopy Club. While his friends were allowed to enter the club, Akul Dhawan was denied entry into the club. Police say that he was repeatedly denied entry into the club by the staff.

Dhawan also declined two rideshare that were called for him according to The Kansas City Star.

Police said, “Subsequent phone calls and text messages sent by friends to Mr Dhawan's phone were not answered.” Friends were also not aware about his presence in the club that night.

A worried friend took the assistance of a campus police to search for Dhawan. Despite a thorough search along the route to the campus, Dhawan was not found.

On January 29, a university employee exiting Bevier Hall saw Mr Dhawan laying on concrete steps behind 1203 W Nevada Street in Urbana. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Kansas City Star reported, the night Dhawan died, the temperature dropped to 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-2.7 degrees Celsius), according to weather.com.

Akul Dhawan’s parents Ish Dhawan and Ritu Dhawan accused the school police department of being negligent.

The Champaign County Coroner's Office in Illinois however maintains that Akul died of hypothermia following “acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, which significantly contributed to his death.”