Akul Dhawan dies of hypothermia
New Delhi:
Akul Dhawan, a student at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, was found dead last month. The 18-year-old reportedly froze to death on January 20 near a club in Urbana, Illinois, which refused him entry.
Akul Dhawan The Champaign County Coroner’s Office in Illinois said he died of hypothermia due to “severe alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures that contributed to his death.”
University of Illinois police said information gathered so far supports the initial belief that his death was accidental and “no foul play occurred.”
Authorities have now put together a timeline of the initial police response to calls from friends with whom Dhawan had lost contact.
Video shows Akul Dhawan drinking alcohol
Based on preliminary investigation results, police said Akul Dhawan At about 9 p.m. on January 19, he met friends at the Busey-Evans Dormitory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and drank alcohol there.
He and friends attended an event at the Canopy Club on S Goodwin Avenue in Urbana around 10 p.m.
Police say he headed to Green Street with friends around 10:45 p.m., and security video later obtained showed him drinking more alcohol before the group returned to the Canopy Club.
Akul Dhawan denied admission by club
When Akul Dhawan’s friends re-entered the Canopy Club between 11:25 and 11:29 pm, he remained outside. Police said he was denied entry by venue staff when he tried to enter the venue at 11:31 p.m. and continued to make “multiple” attempts to enter the venue, but was refused entry by staff multiple times.
Police added that two different ride-share vehicles were called to pick up Mr Dhawan outside the Canopy Club around midnight, but he refused both rides despite attempts by venue staff and a passerby to persuade him.
“Subsequent calls and text messages from friends to Mr Dhawan went unanswered,” police said, adding that when the friend was at the Canopy Club with him, they did not receive Information about his involvement in the Canopy Club. , call them later in the evening.
At approximately 11:08 a.m. on January 29, a university employee exiting Bevier Hall saw Mr. Dhawan lying on the concrete steps behind 1203 West Nevada Street in Urbana and called 911.
Akul Dhawan’s parents accuse police of negligence
Akul Dhawan’s parents have filed a complaint against the school police department for negligence.
Ish Dhawan and Ritu Dhawan said their son was found just 400 feet away from where he was reported missing, according to location tracking data on his phone.
Ish Dhawan told The Press Gazette: “It’s very strange that a child was never found, he was sitting there, less than a block away, about a minute away, dead and frozen. died.”
