Chandigarh: Behind closed doors, talks between Jyoti’s family members and PU authorities stretched for hours. Outside, students stayed put, demanding answers.Jyoti, a fourth-year PhD scholar in the department of microbiology, was the daughter of a private bus driver. She is survived by her mother, a homemaker, and her younger brother. He has passed Class XII and holds an ITI qualification in electrical work.The family said Jyoti was pursuing her research on scholarship and supported the family financially. “She was earning and sending money home. We have lost everything. No compensation can bring back the child,” a relative said.Her paternal and maternal uncles, Jitendra and Sunil Kumar, reached the university’s South Campus around 5:10pm. Standing near the spot where their niece met her abrupt end, they questioned the university’s account of the tragedy.“It’s such a big university and there is no CCTV camera at such an important turn next to the girls’ hostel parking,” Jitendra said, questioning DSW Prof Y K Rawal and other officials, including wardens and demanding evidence to support the university’s claim.Sunil Kumar said she was talking to her mother when she screamed suddenly.PU’s proposal & students’ angerThe family members entered the vice-chancellor’s office around 6:30pm for talks with university officials. Hundreds of students gathered outside, waiting for them. Hours later, they briefly appeared near the entrance and said they were not being allowed to come out after the university had presented its proposal. Outraged, students demanded that the family be allowed to leave the office.While the family reportedly asked for Rs 3 crore, the university offered Rs 5 lakh from the vice-chancellor’s discretionary fund, Rs 11 lakh from the dean, students’ welfare fund and a job for Jyoti’s younger brother as an electrician on a salary of around Rs 19,000 per month in accordance with Punjab govt rules.“If this is their idea of compensation for a bright PhD scholar’s death, we cannot accept it. If we do not reach an agreement with the authorities, we will not get the postmortem done and will leave her body here, said Jitendra.Reading out the proposal outside the VC office, student leader Raman said the decision to accept or reject the offer rested entirely with the family.“It is for the family to decide whether they want to accept it or not but first let them come out. Our demand remains the same. Remove the executive engineer (XEN) and take action against every official responsible for this tragedy,” he said before threatening that they would break the gates open and enter.As the standoff continued, tempers snapped. At around 9.20pm, students broke open the entrance to the vice-chancellor’s office, shattering glass panels. A large number of protesters stormed inside before police personnel and university security officials restrained others from entering.Slogans demanding accountability reverberated on the campus late into the night.While the university’s compensation package became part of the discussions, the family maintained that their foremost demand was to know how Jyoti lost her life on the campus, which was supposed to be her safe space.
