Kerala medical student death in Uzbekistan: Family alleges assault over refusal to convert religion, murder case registered

Allapuzha: Filing a police complaint in Kerala after the death of a first-year medical student who was allegedly killed by her classmate in Uzbekistan, the family has alleged that she was brutally assaulted after she repeatedly refused to convert her religion.

Medical Dialogues had reported that the student was allegedly killed after the accused struck her on the head with a laptop following an argument. Both students were studying at Bukhara State Medical Institute. While the deceased was a native of Haripad, Alappuzha, the accused, a 23-year-old, hails from Malappuram, also from Kerala.

The incident took place on Friday during a conversation between the two. The relatives alleged that the accused became angry during the argument and hit her on the head with a laptop. She reportedly lost consciousness and suffered a severe head injury in the attack, which resulted in internal bleeding. She was rushed to a hospital for treatment but later succumbed to her injuries.

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While the accused was arrested on the same day and is currently in the custody of Uzbek police, the family of the deceased student filed a complaint at the police station in Kerala seeking a detailed investigation into the circumstances surrounding their daughter's death. Her body was flown to Kerala, where a second postmortem was conducted on Thursday.

According to the family, the student was brutally assaulted before being killed, as multiple injuries were visible on her body from head to toe. They claimed the fatal head injury, allegedly caused by a laptop, was not the only cause of death and that she had sustained extensive injuries across her body.

The family also alleged that the student was forced to convert her religion, but she refused repeatedly. Her maternal uncle, who travelled to Uzbekistan to bring back her body, alleged that the accused had been pressuring her to convert her religion, but she had repeatedly refused.

Speaking to TNIE, he said, "Fellow students informed me about the attempts at religious conversion. The attack was not an immediate provocation. She suffered brutal marks of torture from her legs to her head. So we decided to conduct a second postmortem to unravel the mystery."

Harippad SHO V Vishnu Indian Express, "We have registered a case under section 103 (murder) of BNS. We are yet to get official details of the crime from law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan. The postmortem conducted in Alappuzha medical college has prima facie indications of physical assault. We will examine the legal standing of the case registered in Kerala for the crime recorded in Uzbekistan."

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