Akul Dhawan, an Indian-origin student attending the University of Illinois, tragically succumbed to hypothermia following his denial of entry to a nearby nightclub during an evening outing with friends, as revealed by the Champaign County Coroner’s Office in a news release issued on February 20, a full month after his untimely demise.
The incident unfolded on January 20, when Dhawan's lifeless body was discovered near the campus, according to campus police records. Reports indicate that Dhawan had been socializing with friends earlier that evening, but his situation took a dire turn around 11:30 pm when he was turned away by staff at the Canopy Club, a local establishment frequented by students.
Surveillance footage captured Dhawan's repeated attempts to gain entry into the club, all of which were thwarted by staff, despite his persistence. Additionally, he declined offers for rideshare services that were arranged for him, further exacerbating his vulnerable situation in the freezing temperatures, which plummeted to 27 degrees Fahrenheit (-2.7 degrees Celsius) that night, as reported by weather.com.
Concerns grew throughout the night as calls to Dhawan went unanswered, prompting a worried friend to seek assistance from campus police in locating him. Despite exhaustive efforts, including thorough searches along potential routes back to campus and inquiries at local hospitals, Dhawan remained unaccounted for until the following morning when his lifeless body was discovered on concrete steps behind a building.
The coroner's office later determined that Dhawan's death was a result of acute alcohol intoxication combined with prolonged exposure to extremely cold temperatures, underscoring the tragic consequences of his denied access to shelter on that fateful night.
In the aftermath of Dhawan's passing, his grieving family, residents of the San Francisco Bay Area in California, penned an emotional open letter published in The News-Gazette, questioning the circumstances surrounding his discovery and lamenting the perceived lack of urgency in the search efforts. Despite assurances from officials regarding their response, the family expressed profound sadness over the loss of their beloved son, a bright young individual with a promising future ahead of him, whose absence has left an irreplaceable void in their lives.
