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A farmer’s daughter with PhD dreams: Promising life cut short on PU campus
Department chairperson Professor Naveen Gupta said Jyoti was a bright student.
She was the first one from her family to pursue PhD. Hailing from a farmer’s family, Jyoti, 28, had dreams of becoming a professor. She had worked hard towards her goal. But just months away from realising her dream, her life was brutally snatched away.
The senior research fellow at the department of microbiology at Panjab University died of suspected electrocution from exposed live wires near Girls’ Hostel 8 while she was on the way to her department.
Department chairperson Professor Naveen Gupta said Jyoti was a bright student. Her research guide, not willing to be named, revealed that Jyoti was experimenting with the effectiveness of biofertilisers – living microorganisms that improve soil fertility by making nutrients more available to plants – such as rice and paddy straw. “She was making great progress. She had a B.Ed degree as well. She used to keep applying for government jobs and prepare for tests. Her’s was a promising life cut short,” said a professor at her department.
Her uncle Jitender said, “She was the first one from our family to pursue a PhD. We come from a family of farmers. We were always proud of her for achieving such academic excellence.”
“She was a bright child. She had got admission on scholarship and wanted to become a professor. We never thought we would lose her this way,” he added, barely able to fight his tears.
Her maternal uncle Sunil Kumar said, “We are ready to cooperate with the administration but we want to know how our daughter died. She was on call with her mother when the incident occurred. Her mother had heard her scream before the phone got disconnected.”
Kumar further said, “How can there be no closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras? Our daughter died and no one saw her. If she died from an electric shock, how can the administration not look into the safety of students?”
Jyoti is survived by father, mother and younger brother who is currently working in Manesar, Gurugram, after studying at an ITI. Her father fainted twice after hearing of her death. The family had not told her mother about the death till the filing of the report.
