4 min readPuneUpdated: Mar 26, 2026 11:58 AM IST
A 23-year-old MBA student at the College of Agriculture in Pune, who had suffered electric shock from a metal water cooler on the campus, died on Tuesday after being hospitalised for 10 days. The student, Chaitanya Kundalik Chavan, had suffered the electric shock from the water cooler at the student’s co-operative mess.
A large number of students held a protest on the campus on Wednesday demanding suspension of four officials and an audit of electrical connections at the college. Authorities said a committee has been formed and appropriate action would be taken against those responsible.
After the incident, a rubber mat has been installed beneath the water cooler where students stand to fill water. The electricity sockets on top of the cooler have also been sealed with red tape.
Chavan hailed from a small farming family from Dongargan village in Ashti taluka, Beed district. His roommate Akshay Suryawanshi said, “We don’t use chappals or shoes in the mess. When we went to the cooler there might have been a short circuit, and he got stuck there due to the shock. Other students around him shut down the main power supply and took him to the hospital. We had highlighted to the authorities in the past as well that the cooler was not functioning properly but no action was taken.”
The mess is run by students and Suryawanshi said that Chavan himself was a member of the mess management committee. “We students run the mess as a non-profit cooperative. But the water cooler belongs to the college and electrical connections are also the college’s responsibility,” said a mess committee member.
Tejal Jhirwankar, a protesting student, said, “This has happened due to the negligence of the officials. We demand that action should be taken against those responsible. Secondly, there should be a medical dispensary on campus as 1,500 students study here. For any medical emergency we have to go outside. Thirdly, we demand a structural audit of all electrical connections in the building.”
According to a statement by JehangirHospital, Chavan passed away around 1 pm on Tuesday. The hospital said he was initially brought to the Emergency by a friend in an unresponsive state and had no carotid pulse or spontaneous respiratory efforts.
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“Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated immediately as per protocol. Initial cardiac rhythm was ventricular tachycardia (VT), for which multiple defibrillation shocks were administered. The patient was intubated, and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) protocols were followed throughout resuscitation. As per the accompanying friend, the patient had collapsed prior to arrival, and CPR was initiated route to the hospital,” the statement said.
Girish Dighavkar, senior police inspector at Shivajinagar Police Station, said that Chavan’s body was handed over to the family after postmortem. An accidental death case and appropriate action will be taken according to the investigation, he added.
Vilas Kharche, Vice Chancellor of the Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, Rahuri, under which the agriculture college functions, spoke to the protesting students and said, “This is an extremely sad situation. … the university and the students tried fully for the treatment at the hospital but it was unsuccessful… I have spoken to student representatives and heard them in full. I request the students to not sit in the sun and go from here. I assure you that a committee has been formed under the dean and the committee will immediately conduct an inspection, and after doing the inquiry we will definitely take appropriate action. The committee will also give a report on the upgradation of the facilities at the university soon.”
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