Indian PhD student Cheistha Kochhar, who got married last year to an IT professional, dies in London cycling tragedy
Amitabh Kant, the former CEO of NITI Aayog, expressed sorrow over her untimely passing through an online post, recalling her vibrant spirit and academic pursuits.
«Cheistha Kochar worked with me on the LIFE programme in NITI Aayog. She was in the Nudge unit and had gone to do her Ph.D in behavioural science at LSE. Passed away in a terrible traffic incident while cycling in London. She was bright, brilliant & brave and always full of life. Gone away too early. RIP,» Amitabh Kant said in a post on social media platform X.
Cheistha's life came to an abrupt end as she was struck by a garbage truck while cycling, with her husband Prashant, a software engineer, only a short distance ahead. Prashant, upon hearing the collision, hurried back to find Cheistha critically injured. Despite the swift arrival of police and paramedics, Cheistha succumbed to her injuries at the scene. The involved lorry, suspected to be a waste collection vehicle, remained at the site, with the driver cooperating with the ongoing police investigation, reports said. As of now, no arrests have been made, and inquiries continue.
Cheistha and Prashant were married for just over a year… Her father, Lt Gen Dr. SP Kochhar, along with her elder brother Raghav, rushed to the UK upon receiving the tragic news. Originating from Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, Cheistha had previously resided in Gurgaon before relocating to London with her husband in September, embarking on a four-year doctoral program in organizational behavior management, fully funded through a
