Udita, a final-year law student at Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL), was just two exams away from graduation when she collapsed in her hostel corridor on the night of May 21. Her batchmates found her unconscious around 10:45 PM. What followed, they claim, was a failure that cost her life.
According to students, desperate calls for help to on-campus faculty and the university health centre went unanswered. Despite several resident faculty members owning private vehicles, none reportedly stepped in to transport her to the hospital.
The official campus ambulance, they allege, took half an hour to reach the hostel—arriving with equipment that didn’t work. By the time Udita was taken to the hospital, she was declared dead on arrival.
The Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law is currently in the middle of its End Semester Examinations. For Udita, there were only two papers left before she could don the black coat.
In a notice dated May 22, the university suspended academic activities for a day. A prayer meeting was held on May 23. But for many students, these gestures came too late.
The interim Student Bar Council (RSBC), which has long flagged the dismal state of the university’s health infrastructure, said this wasn’t the first time they had raised the alarm. Emails were sent. Concerns were documented. But no action came.
“This isn’t just negligence—it’s systemic apathy,” one member said. “We’ve been warning the administration about the Health Centre for months. And now we’ve lost someone who may have survived, had help arrived in time.”
Students also point out that the university’s Medical Officer had resigned well before the incident. No qualified replacement was appointed, they say. On the night of Udita’s collapse, there was no trained medical professional on campus.
As of now, the university administration has not issued a statement addressing the allegations. The cause of Udita’s death will be officially confirmed once the post-mortem report is released. But for many at RGNUL, the heartbreak is already unbearable—and the silence deafening.