Cambridge University student died of drug overdose

A "valued" student died in a university dorm after taking an overdose of anti-anxiety medication, a coroner heard.

Keshava Iyengar, 20, was "found unresponsive" in a friend's room at Trinity College, Cambridge, on 13 March 2021.

A pathologist told the hearing at Peterborough Town Hall that Mr Iyengar had "potentially fatal quantities of Xanax in his blood".

Coroner Simon Milburn concluded the student's death was "drug-related".

The inquest heard Mr Iyengar left his home in London on 12 March to return to Cambridge, where he was meeting a friend on campus.

The second-year student had already taken a quantity of alprazolam - also known as Xanax - before leaving the capital, the inquest heard.

A recent parking incident had left him anxious because of police involvement - and he had experienced a "tough time with his studies", the coroner was told.

Det Sgt Graham Newton, of Cambridgeshire Police, said witnesses called to express concern after he was seen "swerving" and "driving over grass verges" on the journey.

In a statement read to the inquest, student Hetty Ruane said Mr Iyengar arrived at about 21:30 GMT and the two then took a number of tablets and shared "half a litre" of vodka.

Ms Ruane said her friend was "out of it" when he arrived and had admitted taking "four or five" tablets earlier in the day, and "a couple more" later in the evening.

She said she saw him lying on the floor of her room "snoring" at 07:00 the next morning when she went to bed. When she emerged at 16:00 she was unable to rouse her friend, and called for an ambulance.

Pathologist Dr Sarah Aitken concluded that Mr Iyengar died as a result of "alprazolam toxicity".

A small cut and bruising on the back of his head was consistent with an accidental fall in the room, she said, but the coroner was satisfied that the injury alone did not factor in his death.

Mr Milburn said Mr Iyengar had taken the drug for "high anxiety levels" but was "not reckless". He also concluded that there was evidence the student had not intended to take his own life.

He said Mr Iyengar was a "well-liked and much-missed" colleague.

Fellow student Harry Whelan told the inquest his friend was "one of the best social butterflies", a "glue guy who brought a lot of people together".

"He was a very positive influence; a really valued friend to a lot of people," he told the hearing.

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