On the frosty morning of January 20, 2024, Akul Dhawan, a robotics engineering freshman studying at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, was discovered lifeless on the concrete steps near a campus building. This marked a tragic end to an evening that began with a party.
The Champaign County Coroner’s Office in Illinois later pronounced that Dhawan’s demise was due to hypothermia, with acute alcohol intoxication and extended exposure to freezing temperatures playing a significant role.
The 18-year-old student had ventured out on a night when the temperature had dropped below zero degrees Fahrenheit. His night took a negative turn after he was refused entry into a local nightclub in Urbana.
Although his friends attempted to provide him with transportation home, Dhawan declined their offer. He was subsequently reported missing. A friend notified the police at 1:23 a.m., and despite their assertions of a thorough search, a passerby eventually found Dhawan’s body 10 hours later, merely 500 feet from his last known location, on the steps of a university building.
The incident has initiated dialogue about the duties of university police and the precautions taken to find missing students, particularly under severe weather conditions.
Dhawan’s father has publicly voiced his dissatisfaction with the university police for what he views as insufficient efforts to locate his son in the crucial hours after his disappearance. The University of Illinois police expressed their condolences for the Dhawan family, noting the ongoing investigation into his death.
Dhawan’s parents reminisced about their son’s life, describing him as a joyful individual with a love for engineering and Legos. Despite their initial hesitation about him studying far from their home in California, they supported his ambition to study robotics engineering.
In the wake of this tragic event, the Dhawan family is seeking both answers and accountability, having lodged a complaint against the university police department for alleged negligence in their search efforts.
Rishab Mehandru, Dhawan’s uncle, expressed the family’s intention to delve deeper into the University of Illinois’ search protocols to identify any procedural shortcomings that could prevent similar future incidents.
The community reacted to Dhawan’s death with a vigil held in his memory, attended by friends, family, and university staff, underscoring the deep sense of loss experienced by those who knew him.
