Kerala medical student killed in Uzbekistan, classmate arrested

A 21-year-old medical student from Kerala was allegedly killed by her classmate in Uzbekistan following an altercation, according to local authorities and media reports. The accused, also from Kerala, has been arrested and an investigation is under way.

The victim, Sawariya Basanth, a native of Haripad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district, was a first-year MBBS student at Bukhara State Medical Institute. The accused, identified as 23-year-old Sadarul Anam from Malappuram district, was reportedly a fellow student and a friend of the victim.

According to Uzbek media cited by The Times of India, the incident took place on Friday during a conversation between the two students. Investigators allege that Anam became enraged during the argument and repeatedly struck Sawariya on the head with a laptop.

She reportedly lost consciousness at the scene and was rushed to a nearby hospital by the accused, but doctors were unable to save her.

Uzbek authorities arrested Anam on the same day, and he remains in custody while police investigate the circumstances surrounding the incident. The motive for the alleged assault has not yet been established.

Sawariya had travelled to Uzbekistan in early December to pursue her MBBS degree. Her uncle, who works in the Gulf, travelled to Uzbekistan after learning of the incident, while her father, who is employed in Kuwait, returned to Kerala following news of her death.

According to The Times of India, Sawariya’s body has been brought to New Delhi, and arrangements are under way to repatriate her remains to Kerala for the final rites.