Kerala Police Register Murder of Student Killed in Uzbekistan

A murder case has been registered in Kerala, India, following the death of a 22-year-old medical student from the state who was allegedly killed by a classmate in Uzbekistan. The victim, Savariya Basanth, died last week after an alleged assault by her fellow student, 22-year-old Sadarul Anam, at Bukhara State Medical University, where both had been studying since December 2025.

The case was formally registered at the Haripad police station in Alappuzha district on Wednesday, July 8, based on a complaint filed by Savariya's family. While initial reports from Uzbek authorities suggested her death resulted from being struck on the head with a laptop during an argument, her family strongly contests this account. They allege she was subjected to a prolonged and brutal assault, with injuries covering her body from head to toe, and that the fatal head injury was not the sole cause of death.

The family has raised further serious allegations, claiming that Savariya had been facing pressure from the accused to convert her religion in the months leading up to her death. A family member who traveled to Uzbekistan to repatriate her body stated that an investigating officer there informed him...