Kerala Student Dies In Uzbekistan; Family Alleges Conversion Attempt And Torture

In a highly tragic incident from Kerala, a family is mourning the death of a 22-year-old medical student, Savariya Basanth, who was studying in Uzbekistan.

In a shocking turn of events, local police in Haripad, Alappuzha District, have formally registered a murder case following a swift complaint by her grieving parents, who are now fighting for justice from thousands of miles away.

A Family in Distress and Seeking Answers

Initial reports from Uzbekistan say Savariya died in a hostel room during an abrupt heated argument after being allegedly hit on the head with a laptop by a fellow student. But her family is having no part of that story after seeing the state of her body.

One relative who travelled to Uzbekistan to bring her home told local media her body was covered from head to toe in horrific injuries. But the family is insistent that she was subjected to prolonged brutal physical violence before she died, not a single accidental blow.

It said, “Savariya's university friends also informed her family that the accused classmate had been constantly harassing and pressuring her to change her religion, which Savariya had been firmly refusing to do before her death.”

Status of the Investigation

A second postmortem was carried out at the Alappuzha Medical College to find out the exact truth behind the nature of her injuries. Investigators are waiting for the final medical reports to chalk out their next course of action.

The suspect, a classmate, is from Malappuram, Kerala, and has been taken into custody in Uzbekistan. According to Indian law, criminal cases can be registered for offences against its citizens even outside the country, and the Kerala Police are vigorously pursuing a parallel FIR of their own. The state police will collaborate closely with the Indian Embassy and the Ministry of External Affairs in the future to track the legal process in Uzbekistan and ensure a complete investigation is conducted.