The mood was sombre at the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) on Monday. All classes were cancelled after a first year
PGP student, Nikhil Kamath, 22, died after a week-long illness.

Only former president Abdul Kalam, who is in the city took his special sessions with PGP and PGPX students after the news of Kamath's death on early Monday morning at a private hospital, spread.

Nikhil was reported to be suffering from Thrombotic Thromocytopenic Purpura (TTP), a blood disorder which leads to rapid deterioration and multiple organ failure. According to doctors this condition may arise due to some viral infection.

Since he was admitted to Sterling Hospital with acute respiratory distress along with multiple organ failure, he was suspected of swine flu, and his samples were sent for tests. However, principal secretary, health, Ravi Saxena later told TOI that Kamath tested negative for H1N1.

At a pre-scheduled press conference, IIM-A director Sameer Barua told mediapersons, "We are extremely pained to inform you about the death of our student Nikhil. He was admitted to SAL and diagnosed to be suffering from TTP but his condition deteriorated rapidly. There was a team of five to seven specialists working on him. He was later shifted to Sterling Hospital where he succumbed early on Monday morning."

Nikhil got fever on September 22 for which he took medication and it subsided. But, it re-occurred two days later when he consulted the resident doctor on campus Kiran Desai and was asked to be quarantined.

When his condition failed to improve he was admitted to SAL Hospital where his condition further deteriorated and developed multiple-organ failure.

On Sunday night, he was transferred to Sterling Hospital where the doctor put him in isolation as Nikhil was having acute respiratory distress, high fever and multiple organ failure.

"Since he had to be put on ventilator and he presented all symptoms of swine flu, we gave him on Tamiflu and sent his blood sample for testing," said Dr Chandramauli Raval, medical director of Sterling Hospital.

"Since IIM-A has had a few cases earlier, there might have been anxiety that Nikhil was probably suffering from swine flu. But he had no breathlessness, he was suffering from the blood disorder TTP which led to organ failure," attending physician in SAL Ramesh Rao told TOI.

Meanwhile, Nikhil's last rites were performed at the crematorium in Ellisbridge in the presence of his father D Kamath and other family members and friends.