K’taka urges Punjab govt to register FIR on suspicious death of SpiceJet woman staffer

Bengaluru, May 19 The Karnataka government has written to the Punjab government on Monday requesting registration of an FIR and investigation into the suspicious death of Akanksha (22), a woman staffer of the Spice Jet and a graduate from the Lovely Professional University.

The office of the Chief Secretary has written a letter to the Personal Secretary to the Chief Secretary of the Punjab government. Special Officer to the Chief Secretary of Karnataka, Poovitha. S has signed the letter.

The letter states, "An untimely death of Akanksha, an employee of SpiceJet and a graduate of Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Jalandhar, has been reported to this office."

The death was reported on May 18 when she had visited her college to collect her degree certificate.

The family of the deceased has raised allegations of abetment to suicide by a professor of the college. However, it has been brought to our notice that the locals have not registered an FIR and are instead treating the incident merely as an Unnatural Death Report (UDR), a suicide case.

“In view of the gravity of the matter and the concerns raised by the family, I request you to immediately bring this to the notice of the Chief Secretary for immediate action to ensure justice to the family of the deceased," the letter stated.

Meanwhile, Minister for Health and District In-charge of Mangaluru, Dinesh Gundu Rao, said that, "The death of Akanksha, a student from Dharmasthala in Mangaluru district in Karnataka, in Punjab is a deeply saddening incident."

"At first glance, it appears to be an unnatural death. Her family members have alleged that Akanksha died due to harassment by lecturer Matthew. I urge the Punjab government to conduct a thorough investigation to ensure justice in the mysterious death of Akanksha. I have discussed the matter with the Chief Secretary of our state and instructed that continuous communication be maintained with the Punjab government," said Minister Rao.

Directions have been given to take appropriate steps to hand over Akanksha’s body to her family. Additionally, I have directed that the Chief Secretary of our state speak to the Chief Secretary of Punjab regarding a proper investigation into Akanksha's mysterious death, he said.

"In this regard, our state’s Chief Secretary has held discussions with the Chief Secretary of Punjab, and a case has been registered at the Jalandhar police station in Punjab. The state government stands with Akanksha’s family and will extend all necessary support," he underlined.

Sources stated that the parents of Akanksha have written a letter to the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagvanth Mann. They have alleged that many suspicious deaths have been reported on the campus earlier and appealed that a proper probe will bring out the truth.

They have alleged that the University and the police are trying to hush up the case and have not registered the FIR. Since the FIR is not registered, the postmortem is not conducted.

However, sources said that Akanksha had committed suicide out of love failure. She had jumped from the fourth floor of the university building. She was in love with the professor, a father of two kids.

The senior police officers in Punjab have met the parents of the victim. The victim, Akanksha, had completed Aeronautical Engineering and worked in Delhi with SpiceJet for six months. She was all set to go to Germany for further studies.

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