Shivam Dutt was 23 years old and a first-year MBA (Agribusiness) student at Symbiosis Institute of International Business (SIIB) in Pune, originally from Dwarka, New Delhi. During the college’s sports week, he was playing football with friends on the grounds of the SIIB campus in Hinjewadi. Around 5-5:30 pm, he suddenly collapsed on the field. His friends and hostel mates immediately took him to the campus medical room, but by the time he arrived there, he had no pulse and showed no signs of life. He was taken to a private hospital on December 2, 2025, where doctors declared him “brought dead.”
The exact cause of death has been a subject of considerable controversy:
The first post-mortem report reportedly mentioned “cardio-respiratory failure,” with no external injuries.
The family suspected foul play (alleging ragging and physical assault by seniors), and therefore demanded a second post-mortem. A magisterial inquiry and a second post-mortem were ordered.
The second post-mortem report (conducted after the body was brought back to Delhi) reportedly found pre-mortem injuries: bruises on the chest, abdomen, thighs, and back, and bleeding in the pancreas and liver, indicating injuries sustained 6-12 hours before death.
Some reports and family allegations claimed these injuries were caused by beating/kicking, possibly related to ragging or a dispute during the football match.
The police initially registered an accidental death report (ADR), which was later converted into an FIR under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 149 (unlawful assembly), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), and 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) following the findings of the second post-mortem report and pressure from the family. According to the latest available updates (mid-2025), six fellow students (some identified as seniors) were arrested, questioned, and later released on bail. The investigation by the Hinjewadi police is still ongoing; no charges have been filed yet, and the exact cause of death remains disputed, with “sudden cardiac arrest” (the initial statement from the college/police) on one side and “death due to internal injuries sustained from an assault” (the family’s statement, supported by a second post-mortem examination) on the other.
The family continues to allege ragging and an institutional cover-up; the college maintains that it was a medical emergency (possibly sudden cardiac arrest) and that no evidence of ragging on campus was found. The case is currently in court.