The tragic death of 22-year-old Udit Gayake, a final-year BTech student in Computer Science and Cyber Security at VIT Bhopal, has sparked outrage after CCTV footage showed him being beaten by two policemen in the early hours of October 10. Udit, who had recently secured a high-paying IT job in Bengaluru, died following the alleged assault in Bhopal’s Piplani area.

The young engineer, remembered as ambitious and kind-hearted, was the youngest in a family of professionals. His father, Rajkumar Gayake, is an engineer with the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Board, while his mother and aunts are government school teachers. Udit’s sisters, both older and married, are engineering graduates.

“He was a baccha (child). They (police) could have just hit him once and left him,” said Rajkumar, heartbroken over the loss of his son. “All our children were doing well… We were planning to celebrate Diwali together. Now, my wife is barely conscious, my two daughters are grief-stricken, and I can’t understand why the police would treat my son like a hardened criminal?”

Job Offer, Celebration, and a Life Cut Short

On the evening of October 9, Udit told his father he was heading out for some “college work.” In reality, he was meeting his friends to celebrate a new job offer from an IT company in Bengaluru, with a salary package between ₹10–15 lakh per annum. His aspirations didn’t stop there he was preparing for higher-paying opportunities and hoped to launch his own startup in the future.

“He was completing a course to add to his skills,” said his close friend, Aditya Vyas. “He was searching for a Rs 20-lakh package, and wanted to start something of his own later.”

What Happened That Night?

According to his friends, Udit was attending a party in the Indrapuri area and was being dropped home when they were stopped by police around 1:30 AM. Frightened, Udit fled into a dark lane. CCTV footage later showed a policeman chasing him and beating him with a stick while another officer held him.

When Udit returned to the car, he didn’t mention being in pain but asked for the air conditioning to be turned on and requested water. “He vomited two to three times on the way… Then his hand went limp. We checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. We immediately took him to AIIMS,” recounted his friend. Doctors at the hospital declared him dead on arrival.

Postmortem reports later revealed multiple internal injuries, including a ruptured pancreas, and visible trauma to his head, eye, shoulder, back, and groin. “I went to the hospital and saw my son’s body with injuries on his head, shoulder, back, groin and eye. He was killed like an animal,” said Rajkumar.

Arrest of Police Officers

After public pressure and outrage over the CCTV evidence, the Bhopal police registered a case of murder against constables Santosh Bamaniya and Saurabh Arya. The officers were taken into custody on October 12 and remanded to 14 days of judicial detention.

“We keep our heads down, stay out of trouble and grow. That’s our culture,” said Udit’s uncle, K. K. Gayake, trying to make sense of the brutality. “Why would we behave rudely with anyone, especially the police?”

The family has since demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe to ensure justice is delivered impartially. “He was assaulted so brutally,” said Rajkumar. “When we saw the footage, we were shocked and stunned.”

Remembering Udit

Udit’s school friends from Mount Fort School in Bhopal recalled him as a forward on the football field and a lover of exploration. “He liked adventure, he liked to explore. He recently went to Indore and Pachmarhi with his college group,” Aditya said.

On weekends, Udit often played football with local hotel staff and taught them techniques to improve. “He told them how to play better. Those boys still don’t know that he is dead,” Rajkumar shared.

His compassion extended beyond sports. “Even if he had not spoken for months, he would reach out suddenly. He would do anything for his friends,” Aditya added. He also recalled a time when Udit skipped a college exam just to comfort him during a personal crisis. “He spoke to my mother and convinced me to eat.”

Final Hours

That Thursday night, Udit was out with his friends until about 1 am. What followed an encounter with the police that turned fatal changed the lives of his family forever. “It was a phone call from Udit’s friend in Bengaluru. I went to the hospital and saw my son’s body,” Rajkumar recalled.

Despite the arrests, the family remains consumed by grief and questions. “We were ready to support his dreams. We are all well-to-do. We would have spent money on his capital,” said Rajkumar. “He knew we had his back.”