‘Want the truth to come out’: After GNLU student’s suicide, kin grapple with the loss of family’s ‘sabse achha bachha’
As per the demands of protesting students, a probe panel has also been set up against Prajapati and Avani on their response and role in the incident.
4 min read
21-year-old Vansh, a third-year law student of five-year integrated law undergraduate programme at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, died by alleged suicide on Monday night. (Express Photo)Each time he would return to his family during vacations, law student Vansh Gaint would be addressed as “judge saheb” by his loved ones. “Here comes our judge saheb… we would say,” said one of his uncles.
A resident of Punjab’s Patiala, 21-year-old Vansh, a third-year law student of five-year integrated law undergraduate programme at Gujarat National Law University (GNLU), Gandhinagar, died by alleged suicide on Monday night, barely two hours after he had spoken to his father over the phone.
His family members are still in disbelief over the turn of events.
“We want the truth and cause of Vansh’s death to come out. We will fight for it,” says Vikas Puri, Vansh’s uncle, adding he was the “sabse achha bachha (the best child)” in the family.
“We will approach all the legal options available to know what happened to him and the reason he resorted to this extreme step,” Puri, a businessman in Patiala, tells The Indian Express over the phone on Friday.
With Vansh gone, his family members are apprehensive about sending his younger brother Ojas far away to pursue his dreams, says Puri. Ojas awaits his final call letter from the National Defence Academy (NDA), having cleared the Services Selection Board (SSB) and medical examination.
“The family wanted Vansh to stay closer to home but it was he who insisted on taking admission at GNLU. He told me it had a better ranking than the institute in Patiala. He told me, ‘Chachu, vahan nasha kam hota hai (uncle, the drug menace is not as severe there [in Gandhinagar])…so, the family would not have to worry on that front’,” Puri, Vansh’s paternal uncle, said.
Vansh’s father Pankaj is a garment businessman while his mother Sonia is a government primary school teacher in Patiala.
Puri along with Vansh’s maternal uncle Dinesh Chopra were in Gandhinagar recently to take back his body to his hometown.
Puri remembers his nephew as a bright student.
“He was among the top three students in Punjab in his Class 10 CBSE exams. He secured a 97.4% score. I had promised him that I would get him an iPhone if he gets the top score. The moment his results were declared, he called and reminded me of my promise,” Vikas shares with The Indian Express.
‘Would make us laugh, crack Punjabi jokes’
Like his kin, Vansh’s batchmates and friends, too, are in shock at the loss of “one of the smartest persons in the batch”.
Pritish Panda, Vansh’s roommate, says, “He was among the toppers. The entire group would depend on Vansh for notes. Woh college ki raunak tha (He was a radiant personality). He would make us laugh and crack Punjabi jokes. He was so cheerful that everyone was happy around him. He was very particular about his exercise routine and would go to the campus gym everyday.”
Panda says he has not been able to sleep since the incident. “Whenever I close my eyes, I remember all those moments we spent together,” he says.
“He was very obedient and active in the class, someone who would have his own opinions and questions. He was very active in every discussion in the class. He would complete each task, his grades were good,” Nikhil Saini, assistant professor of Political Science at GNLU, who had taught Vansh in his fourth and fifth semesters, says.
On Thursday, around 500 students held a mass protest on the GNLU campus against what they called “administrative failure” with regard to Vansh’s death. Hours later, hostel warden Yogesh Prajapati and nurse Avani were suspended by the GNLU administration after the university admitted in writing that it “acknowledged certain shortcomings that has been brought to our knowledge with respect to the tragic incident that occurred on the night of 17-18 March 2025”.
As per the demands of protesting students, a probe panel has also been set up against Prajapati and Avani on their response and role in the incident.
“The enquiry committee of three senior faculty members have already started their investigations and taken statements of students and the warden today (Friday). The report is expected to be submitted in the coming week,” says GNLU Registrar Nitin Malik.
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