VASCO
The Verna police on Sunday handed over the body of 20-year-old BITS Pilani student Kushagra Jain to his family, who have taken it to Lucknow for the final rites.
Jain, a third-year Computer Science student from Lucknow, was found dead in his hostel room at the BITS Pilani, Goa campus on Saturday afternoon. His sudden demise has sparked concern on campus, as this is the fourth student death in the hostels within the past nine months.
Police sources said officers rushed to the institute after receiving the alert. “The student was declared dead by the institution’s Deputy CMO. Verna Police carried out the U.D. occurrence panchanama and inquest panchanama, before referring the body for post-mortem at the South Goa District Hospital, Margao, where the autopsy was conducted,” a source said.
The exact cause of death is yet to be determined. “The final opinion has been reserved pending the chemical analysis of viscera, histopathological examination of tissues, and toxicology analysis of blood,” the source added.
As part of the inquiry, police have recorded statements of several of Jain’s friends. “We were told he was a good student, not involved in disputes on campus. On Friday night, he played table tennis till about 10.30 pm, had an energy drink afterward, and remained active on a group chat until around 2 am,” the source revealed.
Verna police said further investigations into the case are underway.