Kota: A student’s death sparked widespread protests at Rajasthan Technical University in Kota on Thursday, leading to police using force to disperse agitating demonstrators after the situation escalated.
The victim, a first-year information technology student from Jaipur, was found dead inside his campus hostel room. While protesting students alleged that he died from a snakebite on campus, university officials countered that he may have suffered a cardiac arrest. Authorities stated that the precise cause of death will be determined following a postmortem examination.
Demonstrating students accused the university administration of severe negligence and demanded the immediate removal of chief warden DK Yadav. They claimed the campus dispensary shuts down at 2am and that medical professionals are frequently unavailable, arguing that prompt medical intervention could have saved the young man's life. Students also reported that snakes had been sighted on campus grounds on multiple prior occasions and staged a sit-in to press their demands.
Chief warden Yadav stated that when the student was discovered unresponsive, the university team hurried to his room and arranged transport to a hospital via an autorickshaw. He noted that doctors suggested the student likely passed away in his sleep between 4am and 6am, reiterating that the postmortem report would clarify the exact circumstances.
Police initially attempted to convince the students to call off the demonstration, but intervened with force when the crowd refused to disperse and the situation deteriorated as some individuals reportedly began throwing stones. Additional police superintendent Subhash Chandra Mishra noted that the protesters insisted on meeting directly with the vice-chancellor to outline their grievances.
Mishra explained that after multiple rounds of discussions, the vice-chancellor agreed to some of the student demands. Although a complete consensus was not reached on every point, the students ultimately called off the protest after police guaranteed an impartial investigation into the circumstances surrounding the student's death.