“Shrutika was on the phone with us when the tragedy happened,” said a family member, as reported by PTI.Shrutika Baranwal was among the 21 people who died in the fire at a B&B in Hauz Rani on Wednesday. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)Shrutika Baranwal was a dedicated and academically driven student whose commitment to addressing critical water governance challenges had earned her widespread appreciation, her professor Pranjal Deekshit told HT.Baranwal was among the 21 people who died in the fire at a B&B in Hauz Rani on Wednesday. The 26-year-old from Jharkhand had recently completed her postgraduation in Water Policy & Governance (2024–2026) at the School of Habitat Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Mumbai.She was in Delhi for an orientation for a job with the Rubber, Chemical & Polymer Skill Development Council (RCPSDC) . She was scheduled to join the organisation’s Mumbai office shortly thereafter.“She was full of life and I had last met her in the first week of May. She had completed her dissertation on groundwater issues in Dhanbad, something which is not discussed in the public domain. She was a dedicated student, and it is unfortunate that just as she was set to begin a new phase in her life, she lost her life,” said Deekshit.A condolence meeting was held at TISS on Thursday.During her time at TISS, her academic interests focussed on issues related to water access, groundwater management and public policy. According to her LinkedIn profile, she had worked extensively on household surveys, water supply assessments and groundwater-related studies, gaining valuable field experience and research expertise.The professor recalled that Shrutika had expressed gratitude to him and the institute for their mentorship and guidance throughout her academic journey. “Her dissertation was widely appreciated, and the organisation where she was hired was also quite impressed with her work,” he said.