What happened
The body of 22-year-old Ajit Singh Chaudhary from Alwar, Rajasthan, who was pursuing MBBS at Bashkir State Medical University since 2023, was recovered from a dam near Ufa, around 1,150 km east of Moscow, 19 days after he went missing, raising suspicions of foul play. He was last seen leaving his hostel around 11 a.m. on October 19 to buy milk, telling friends he would return in half an hour, but he did not come back. The discovery has left the family and fellow students shocked as questions persist over the circumstances of his death.
Notification and identification
Ajit’s body was found on November 6, following which the college and India’s Ministry of External Affairs informed the family, as confirmed by his uncle Rajendra Singh. According to family representatives, other Indian students in Ufa helped identify the body after it was recovered from a dam adjoining the White River. Earlier, Ajit’s clothes, shoes and mobile phone had reportedly been found near the riverbank during the search.
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Autopsy and repatriation
The family is awaiting a postmortem by a Russian medical board, a process expected to take two to three days. Officials have conveyed that the government is coordinating with the Indian Embassy in Moscow and Russian authorities to expedite repatriation of the remains. Local representatives who met Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh said the process has been fast-tracked, with formalities to follow the autopsy.
Family’s plea and community response
Relatives said Ajit’s parents had sold three bighas of land to fund his medical education abroad, and they are devastated as they await the return of their son’s body. Former Union Minister and Congress leader Jitendra Singh ‘Alwar’ urged the Centre to bring the body back immediately and demanded a thorough probe into the “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the death. Community members and student groups have also appealed to authorities for swift repatriation and a transparent investigation.
What remains unclear
Authorities have not yet detailed the exact cause or manner of death, and whether it points to accident, crime, or any other possibility. The investigation will hinge on autopsy findings, recovery timelines, and forensic evidence gathered from the dam site and the riverbank where clothing and the phone were found. The family has sought clarity on the sequence of events from the moment he left the hostel to the recovery of the body.
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