Her brother Mayan Nandi rushed her to the nearby Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital, but was declared brought dead by doctors. Her post-mortem was conducted at the government-run Kanwatia hospital in Shastri Nagar and the autopsy report is awaited.
Palak, who hails from Ahmedabad, joined TOI’s Jaipur edition as a special correspondent in 2008 and was currently working as the deputy bureau chief. Her keen interest in politics, women’s issues and her special stories had a lasting impact on readers, policymakers and politicians. She has covered state and parliamentary elections extensively from 2008 as a BJP beat reporter. Her field reports always highlighted the people’s mood during the polls.
Known for her friendly and jovial nature, Palak regularly contributed to platforms promoting reading habits among children and advocated education for girls. A regular donator of books to an NGO at Jhalana in Jaipur, she taught children of maids in her building and nearby apartments in Tilak Nagar.
She loved dogs and her pet ‘Damroo’, a beagle, was with her during the morning walk at RU. She was on the advisory board of an NGO working for the rehabilitation of dogs in the city.
Palak completed her master’s degree in mass communication from Maharaja Sayajirao University in Baroda and started her career in journalism at the peak of the 2002 Gujarat riots in Ahmedabad. She moved to Jaipur in 2006 as a reporter with the Indian Express.
She is survived by her parents and two younger siblings – a brother and a sister.
