Suspicious death of Akanksha Nair in Punjab: Funeral held in Dharmasthala

Suspicious death of Akanksha Nair in Punjab: Funeral held in Dharmasthala

Mangalore Today News Network

Beltangady, May 21, 2025: The funeral of Akanksha S. Nair (22), an aerospace employee who died under suspicious circumstances in Punjab, was held today at her family residence in Boliyar, Dharmasthala.

As the body arrived at the house around 9 a.m., the grief of the family members echoed with loud cries. Despite continuous rain, hundreds of people gathered to pay their last respects.

The body, which was flown to Bengaluru at night, was then transported to Dharmasthala by ambulance.

Several dignitaries, including MLA Harish Poonja, Block Congress President Nagesh Kumar, CPM Secretary B.M. Bhat, and activist Mahesh Shetty Timarody, visited to pay their final respects.

MLA Harish Poonja demands thorough investigation

Speaking to the media after viewing Akanksha’s body, Beltangady MLA Harish Poonja stated that according to her parents, family, and friends, Akanksha was not someone who would commit suicide. Therefore, a thorough investigation into the incident is necessary. He mentioned that he and MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta contacted the SP and DGP in Punjab, following which an FIR was registered and action was taken against a professor.

Poonja urged that the Karnataka Home Minister should press the Punjab government to conduct a detailed investigation through the state government’s channel.

Akanksha, the second daughter of Surendra Nair and Sindhu Devi of Boliyar, Dharmasthala, was working in the aerospace industry in Delhi. She had plans to go abroad for work and had traveled to LPU (Lovely Professional University) in Punjab to collect her certificates. On May 17, her body was found after she allegedly jumped from the fourth floor of the college building in a suspected suicide. Her parents, suspecting foul play, had filed a police complaint in Punjab. Subsequently, Punjab police registered a case against Bijil Mathew, a professor of Kerala origin, and arrested him.