Two promising Indian students in the United States – one on the cusp of graduation, the other weeks away from realising her dreams – have become the faces of unimaginable tragedy after suffering horrific falls in separate incidents. One lost his life. The other, her ability to walk.
What was meant to be a joyful celebration before graduation turned into heartbreak when 25-year-old Gaurav Jaisingh, a finance student at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, fell to his death from a hotel balcony in the Bahamas on May 11.
The Indian-American student was part of the university’s annual senior trip at the Atlantis Paradise Island Resort when the accident occurred, reported The Times of India.
According to the Royal Bahamas Police Force, Gaurav was inside a hotel room with several roommates when he accidentally fell from an upper-level balcony. He was found unresponsive on a lower floor and died while being rushed to hospital.
Originally from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Gaurav was well-regarded on campus for his leadership roles in the Delta Sigma Pi fraternity, the South Asian Students Association, and as a tour guide and orientation leader.
He was due to graduate just six days later and had secured a consulting job in New York.
“This is an enormous tragedy for our community,” Bentley University said in a statement. “We share our deepest condolences with Gaurav’s family, friends and loved ones.”
His fellow students mourned his death at commencement, describing him as “driven, kind and deeply loved.”
In a parallel tragedy, 21-year-old Bandna Bhatti, a student at the University of California, Berkeley, was left paralysed from the waist down after falling from an external staircase during a fraternity party on April 19, reported the Hindustan Times.
Bandna, who was just three weeks away from graduating with a degree in Data Science, fell nearly four metres and landed on a narrow passageway outside the frat house while striking her head on the way down.
After the tragic fall, she lay there for 15 minutes before she was found by people and taken inside.
Her family claimed that those who took her inside were asked to leave the party by her friends. They left, and her friends carried Bandna to her apartment without knowing the extent of her internal injuries.
Nobody called emergency services after she fell. Medical professionals came seven hours later when friends finally called emergency services.
In addition to the paralysing spinal fracture, Bandna suffered other severe injuries, including a spinal fluid leakage, a scapular fracture and a brain hematoma.
Her sister, Sonya Bhatti, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise US$450,000 (($585,000) for medical treatment.
“Our beloved sister, Bandna, only 21 years old, was just three weeks away from graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in data science – a milestone she had worked so hard for – when our world was turned upside down,” Ms Sonya wrote.
“Bandna is a brilliant, compassionate, and resilient young woman who has worked tirelessly toward her dreams. Now, she faces a long and difficult road ahead, and we are humbly asking our community for help,” she said.
Since April 26, the fundraiser has received nearly US$100,000 from over 1,200 donations.
According to her LinkedIn page, Bandna was pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Data Science with an emphasis in Business and Industrial Analytics. She was also a member of the university’s Sikh Student Association.
UC Berkeley confirmed its awareness of the incident and is offering support to Bandna and her family, while police continue to investigate.
