Student killed in Uzbekistan; back home in Kerala, family links it to conversion bid

3 min readThiruvananthapuramUpdated: Jul 9, 2026 10:20 PM IST

The alleged accused, Sadarul Anam, 22, was arrested following the incident. (Credit: Unsplash)

A medical student from Kerala was killed in Uzbekistan, allegedly by her classmate, who is also from the state. The victim’s family has further alleged in a police complaint filed in Kerala that she was being forced into religious conversion.

The victim has been identified as Sawariya Basanth, 21, a native of Harippad in Alappuzha district. She was a first-year medical student at Bukhara State Medical Institute in Uzbekistan.

The alleged accused, Sadarul Anam, 22, is a native of Pulamanthol in Malappuram district. He was arrested following the incident. Sawariya’s body was flown to Kerala, where a second postmortem was conducted Thursday following a complaint from her family.

The body was cremated Thursday. Back in Kerala, Harippad Police also registered a murder case based on a complaint filed by Sawariya’s father, Basanth, who is employed in Kuwait.

Embassy is extending all assistance to the family of deceased Ms Sawariya Basanth including on the repatriation of her mortal remains. Today, Ambassador met her family member. Embassy is also in constant touch with the concerned authorities in Uzbekistan.

— India in Uzbekistan (@amb_tashkent) July 7, 2026

Harippad SHO V Vishnu said: “We have registered a case under section 103 (murder) of BNS. We are yet to get official details of the crime from law enforcement agencies in Uzbekistan. The postmortem conducted in Alappuzha medical college has prima facie indications of physical assault. We will examine the legal standing of the case registered in Kerala for the crime recorded in Uzbekistan”.

Basanth’s relative Janeesh told the media that Sadarul had been “forcing Sawariya to convert”.

Physically assaulted, say classmates

“Her classmates had informed us that she was physically assaulted many times. He had been forcing her to get converted, but she resisted it. Her friends are privy to these incidents,” Janeesh said.

Police said the family, in its complaint, had also raised the allegation of an attempted forced conversion.

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Shaju Philip is a Senior Assistant Editor at The Indian Express, where he leads the publication's coverage from Kerala. With over 25 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is one of the most authoritative voices on the socio-political, religious, and developmental landscape of South India.

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Uzbekistan