Chandigarh: Mystery shrouds ‘outsider’s’ death at Panjab University boys hostel
The youth was allegedly not a Panjab University student, but had stayed overnight with a second-year student of hotel management known to him
A 24-year-old you who stayed overnight at Boys Hostel Number 7 on the Panjab University campus died on Tuesday morning under suspicious circumstances.
The youth was allegedly not a varsity student, but had stayed overnight with a second-year student of hotel management known to him. He was declared brought dead at GMSH, Sector 16, around 9.30 am. Awaiting the autopsy report, police have not ruled out drug overdose or heart attack. Multiple bottles of alcohol, along with some cigarette butts, were allegedly found in the hostel room.
As per police, both the deceased and the student he stayed with hailed from Kullu, Himachal Pradesh. The former’s family has already reached Chandigarh.
Police informed PU authorities about the youth’s death after being alerted by the hospital staff. They have initiated inquest proceedings at the Sector 11 police station.
SSP Kanwardeep Kaur stated an autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death. “We are conducting a thorough investigation into the incident and all angles are being examined,” she said.
Name not entered in guest register
Hostel warden Arun Singh Thakur said the hotel management student had been staying in the hostel since 2023. “Whenever a student brings any outsider to their room, their name has to be entered into the guest entry register. We found that this was not done in this case.”
Investigators said this was not the first time that the deceased had come to this particular room. He lived in Chandigarh and didn’t visit his home town often.
PU to order probe into security lapse
Dean students welfare (DSW) Amit Chauhan said they will initiate an inquiry into how the youth was able to enter the hostel undetected. “Any lapses on the security part will be highlighted. Absence of security personnel can’t be a reason for security lapses, such as this,” he said, adding that a show-cause notice had already been issued to the hostel guard.
They said CCTV footage showed the youth being carried out of the hostel by the hotel management student and another outsider, supporting him on their shoulders. They were also allegedly stopped by the sweeper on the way out, and they told him that the youth was feeling unwell and was being taken to GMSH-16.
Further inquiries by police also revealed that the room where the youth spent the night was officially assigned to another student, but a different student had been occupying it. However, DSW Chauhan said this wasn’t there in their records.
As per chief of university security (CUS) Vikram Singh, it is difficult to inspect the ID of every person at PU’s entry gates or at the hostel entrances through the day, but this was ensured at night. In April 2023, a drunk man had entered the room of a female student in Girls Hostel Number 4 around 3 am at night. He hasn’t been traced till date.