Bhubaneswar: Feb. 28: A 22-year-old girl was found dead in her hostel room in Nayapalli yesterday. Police claimed that it could be a case of suicide and the deceased’s family members said that that her life could have been saved had the hostel authorities taken her to a hospital on time.

Priyanka Aparajita, a student of the Indira Gandhi Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences in Jayadev vihar area, was found lying on her bed in the hostel room. Her friends had called the superintendent and caretaker of the hospital who took her to a private hospital in the city, where she was declared brought dead. Her friends informed her parents.

Family members of the fourth year Bachelor in Pharmacy student said that the girl had recently recovered from chicken pox. The family had taken her to their house in Bhadrak. After she recovered, they left her at the hostel last Saturday. “As her examination was approaching, she insisted that she should go back to Bhubaneswar and study. On Sunday, I got a telephone call around 4pm from her friends that her condition was not good. After half an hour, they called me again and said that she was no more,” said Sashank Sekhar Sahu, the girl’s father.

Priyanka’s family members said the hospital authorities told them that she died around six hours before she was brought to the hospital.

The deceased’s roommate said that she had no idea when her Priyanka died. She used to study till late hours and got up late. “Yesterday, she went to sleep around 8am and asked others not to disturb her,” said her roommate. During lunch, she tried calling her but the latter did not respond. In the afternoon, hostel mates became suspicious and tried to wake her up. Her body had become stiff by then.

Nayapalli police, which is investigating into the case, is of the view that it was a case of suicide. “It seems to be a case of suicide. We are waiting for the autopsy report and are also waiting for any formal complaint from the girl’s family,” said a police officer.

“We would register a complaint against the college authorities for their negligence,” said Supriti Prava Sahu, a relative of the girl.

However, the college authorities denied negligence on their part. “We still do not know how the girl died. The autopsy report would confirm this. We will cooperate with the police investigation,” said Manoranjan Sahu, a faculty member of the college.