LAHORE: University of Engineering and Technology Lahore (UET) students on Monday demanded a transparent investigation into the death of a student at the Kala Shah Kaku campus.
Fahad Dawood, 18, a second-semester student of computing engineering, fell critically ill on Sunday night and died at a hospital in Lahore.
A number of students gathered on the campus and staged a protest, demanding an inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the death and medical facilities at the campus. They claimed Fahad had developed severe health complications but was not provided with an ambulance promptly. They also alleged that no doctor was available at the university’s medical centre.
They claimed that the delay in shifting him to Government Teaching Hospital, Shahdara, contributed to his death.
The university administration rejected allegations of negligence.
In a statement, the university expressed deep sorrow over the demise of Fahad and extended condolences to his family.
According to the university spokesperson, Fahad had been suffering from fever for several days and was reportedly self-medicating. On March 8 at around 1:21pm, one of his friends informed campus security that Fahad had high fever and vomiting.
Security personnel informed the resident tutor and shifted the student to the campus health clinic, where the medical officer found that his blood pressure and oxygen saturation were critically low.
The spokesperson said the student was immediately provided oxygen and emergency treatment before being referred to Shahdara hospital. A university ambulance transported him to the hospital with oxygen support.
Doctors at Shahdara hospital examined the student and later referred him to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital due to his critical condition. However, his condition later deteriorated and he died.
According to the hospital’s report, the cause of death was cardiopulmonary arrest resulting from meningoencephalitis, a severe infection affecting the brain and its surrounding membranes.
Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2026
