A wave of intense unrest gripped the Rajasthan Technical University (RTU) campus in Kota on Thursday morning following the tragic death of 19-year-old student Akshit Sharma under unexplained circumstances inside his hostel room. Akshit, a native of Jhotwara in Jaipur, was enrolled in the first year of the Information Technology (IT) program. As word of his demise spread across the residential blocks, grief quickly turned into outrage among the student community. Demonstrators assembled across the grounds to protest against university authorities, accusing them of severe administrative apathy and demanding the immediate dismissal of the chief warden alongside financial compensation for the bereaved family.
Discovered Unresponsive in Hostel Room
Akshit had been residing with two roommates in room number 61 of the H-4 hostel located within Bhaskar Bhavan. According to accounts from peers, he had participated in an on-campus event on Wednesday before having dinner and retiring to bed as usual. The following morning, when Akshit failed to wake up and showed no vital response, his alarmed roommates quickly alerted Chief Warden D.K. Yadav. Arrangements were subsequently made to transport him to the New Medical College Hospital. Upon arrival, attending physicians examined the young undergraduate and officially pronounced him dead, triggering widespread shock throughout the residential complex.
Suspected Snakebite and Conflicting Explanations
Senior students have raised claims that Akshit suffered a snakebite during the night, leading to a rapid decline in his physical condition and sudden loss of consciousness. They maintain that a prompt emergency intervention could have preserved his life. Conversely, the university administration has firmly rejected the snakebite theory at this preliminary stage. University officials emphasized that the precise physiological cause of death cannot be determined through speculation and will only be conclusively verified once the official post-mortem examination report is finalized and submitted by medical authorities.
Allegations of Costly Medical Delays
Agitating students leveled serious accusations against the institution regarding emergency readiness and logistical mismanagement. According to student representatives, the chief warden took nearly an hour to arrive at the dormitory after the initial distress call was placed. Furthermore, eyewitnesses among the students alleged that although Akshit's hands had noticeably turned blue, indicating critical physical distress, the ambulance carrying him was unnecessarily delayed at the university main gate for approximately 30 minutes under the pretext of routine gate security clearance. The student body argued that these compound delays squandered vital time and demanded accountability, insisting on the warden's immediate removal and compensation for the grieving parents.
University Administration Responds to Charges
In response to the allegations of administrative neglect, Chief Warden D.K. Yadav disputed the timeline presented by the students. He stated that upon receiving the alert, both he and the Vice Chancellor arrived at the scene within approximately 15 minutes to facilitate the student's immediate transfer to the medical facility. While administrative officials maintain that all protocol steps were handled expeditiously, the incident has brought campus safety standards, late-night medical emergency mechanisms, and residential response procedures under intense scrutiny. A definitive conclusion now rests on the forthcoming autopsy findings.
