UP Topper, Studying In US, Dies In Accident; Family Alleges Harassment

Bulandshahr: A 20-year-old western Uttar Pradesh woman, studying in the US after having earned scholarship based on her securing 98 per cent in Class XII board exams, died following a road accident here on Monday.

Sudeeksha Bhati had fared excellently in plus-II exams in 2018 and then had gone on to receive a full-time scholarship at a prestigious university for further studies in the United States. The deceased girl’s family claimed that she was chased and harassed by two men on motorcycle when she, a pillion rider on her uncle’s bike, was going to a relative’s place in Sikandrabad, Bulandshahr to fetch some academic documents from a school.

However, the district administration said the officials investigating into the matter have found no proof of harassment.

The Bulandshahr student had come back from America in June during novel coronavirus outbreak and was slated for return to the US later this month. Barely two years ago, Sudeeksha qualified for the prestigious Babson College in Massachusetts. Prior to that, she had topped her district in CBSE Class XII examinations from the Humanities stream.

“There were two men on the other bike. They were passing comments on her and were driving recklessly,” Omkar Bhati, a family member, was quoted as saying by the NDTV.

Sudeeksha’s uncle Satender Bhati, with whom she was heading to Sikandrabad on a bike, narrated the incident. “When we crossed the Bulandshahr town, we entered a village. A bike then overtook us several times; the biker was driving recklessly. He then started performing stunts. I slowed my motorcycle but the other bike hit ours. We both fell but my niece suffered head injuries. I could not recognise the driver of the other bike and he escaped shortly after we met with the accident,” the uncle was quoted.

District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar though contradicted the family’s claims of harassment. “The motorcycle was being driven by her brother, a minor, and not Sudeeksha’s uncle. So far, there is no evidence of harassment,” Kumar told reporters.

The Bulandshahr Police have said they are probing into the matter. “The police team that went to the spot had questioned eyewitnesses who said a Royal Enfield Bullet was coming from the front and it suddenly stopped (near their bike) because of the traffic, which led to the accident. The body of the woman was sent for the postmortem. At that time when the accident happened, the relative or any eyewitness had not spoken about any harassment,” said Bulandshahr’s senior police officer Atul Shrivastava.