Indian-origin student Akul Dhawan died of cold near the club where he was not allowed to enter
Akul Dhawan froze to death four minutes from the Canopy Club, a club and eatery near the University of Champaign at Urbana in Illinois. (Image: Google Street View)
The Canopy Club, where Akul Dhawan had previously visited with his friends, had denied him entry on the night of his death.
Akul Dhawan, an 18-year-old Indian-American student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the US, died last month after going missing for several hours, “from hypothermia following acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to cold temperatures.” she passed away.” That significantly contributed to his death, according to a statement released by the Champaign County Coroner’s Office in Illinois.
“An autopsy was conducted on Tuesday, January 23, 2024, which confirmed that Mr. Dhawan died due to hypothermia. “Acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures significantly contributed to his death,” the press release said.
Akul was found dead last month (January 20) and his body was found in the back porch of a building near the university campus in West Urbana, Illinois, USA. At the time, campus police said they would wait for the investigation to conclude to determine the exact cause of death, but highlighted that there were signs of hypothermia.
The night Akul died, he had gone out to drink alcohol with his friends. They decided to visit Canopy Club on January 20, 2024 at around 11:30 pm. He has visited the club before also. The club was also close to the campus.
However, despite trying to enter the club “several times” he was denied entry by staff. Local media outlets also reported that Akul turned down two rideshare vehicles called for him.
Illinois and the US Midwest saw severe cold and freezing temperatures in late January, with temperatures falling between 0°C and −2°C.
The search for Akul began when several calls made to him went unanswered and a friend contacted the campus police to search for him. Police said an officer searched for Dhawan by driving “at foot speed” near a “likely route” through which he would have returned to the university campus.
However, the next morning, a university employee notified police after finding “a man on the back porch of a building.” Police stated that “he was dead when he was found”.
According to Google Maps, Akul was found four minutes away from Canopy Club.
According to The News-Gazette, Akul Dhawan, who turned 18 in September last year, came to the University of Illinois’ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering to study robotics. His parents have claimed that the police never searched for their son.
(With inputs from The Kansas City Star and The News-Gazette)
