Who Was Akul Dhawan, The Indian-Origin Student Who Froze To Death In US?

Indian-origin student Akul Dhawan has died after freezing to death near a club in the US that refused him entry.

The Champaign County Coroner's Office in Illinois said this week that Mr Dhawan, who was found dead last month, died of hypothermia following "acute alcohol intoxication and prolonged exposure to freezing temperatures, which significantly contributed to his death."

According to reports, Mr Dhawan on January 20 had gone out for drinks with his friends to a club near the university campus in Urbana in the US state of Illinois. However, the staff at the club denied him entry.

He then went missing and several calls were made to him that went unanswered, following which his friend contacted the campus police.

The next morning, an employee of the university notified authorities of "a man on the back porch of a building". Police said that he was "dead at the time he was found".

The police said that information collected so far supports the initial belief that Mr Dhawan's death was accidental and that no "foul play" occurred.

Who Was Akul Dhawan?

Akul Dhawan was a freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was studying robotics at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Akul Dhawan, who turned 18 in September last year, earned his high school diploma from the Junipero Serra High School in California's San Mateo.

He also studied Computer Science at the College of San Mateo.

It was reportedly his first week back at college following the winter break.