Bhubaneswar:

Expediting its inquiry into the alleged suicide of a girl student and subsequent action against other Nepalese pupils, the Odisha government’s high-level committee summoned KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta for his personal appearance before it on Friday.

The Higher Education Department, in a letter to Samanta on Thursday, said, “You are requested to appear before the high-level committee on 21.02.2025 at 6.30 pm at State Guest House to adduce evidence with adequate documentary evidence before the committee on the term of reference as stated in the office order.”

The three-member committee, headed by Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Satyabrata Sahu, is mandated to ascertain the circumstances leading to the suicide, alleged high-handed action by the institute authority, reasons for issuing notice to only a specific group of students and closing the institute sine die for them and other incidental matter that emerges during inquiry.

The committee, also comprising the secretaries of higher education department and Women and Child Development (WCD), had visited the KIIT campus on Wednesday and held a discussion with some of the Nepalese students who were allegedly mistreated by the staffers of the private institute for staging demonstration on the campus.

Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj said, “The high-level committee is empowered to summon anyone for the purpose of inquiry into the matter. The committee is functioning on the basis of law.” Noting that the state government is committed to protecting the interest of students, the minister said.

“The state government has also discussed with the officials of Nepal Embassy and apprised the students about the developments,” he said.

The unrest in Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) began after the alleged suicide of 20-year-old Prakriti Lamsal, a student from Nepal, on Sunday afternoon. Other Nepalese students staged agitation and demanded justice.

Allegedly annoyed by the demonstration, the KIIT authorities issued suspension notices to about 1,000 Nepalese students and asked them to leave the campus on Monday.

Commissioner of Police S Dev Datta Singh, meanwhile, said the police have obtained a three-day remand of a 21-year-old engineering student, who was arrested on charge of abetting the woman’s suicide.

The student was caught at the Biju Patnaik International Airport here while attempting to flee the city on Sunday evening, hours after the woman’s death. He has been accused of blackmailing and verbally abusing her.

Following the intervention of the Centre and the state government, the KIIT authorities had tendered an apology and requested the Nepalese students to return to the campus.

The state government has opened a round-the-clock help desk, to facilitate the Nepalese students’ safe return.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhubaneswar:

The three-member high-level committee, constituted by the Odisha Government to inquire into the alleged mistreatment meted out to Nepali students by KIIT University in Bhubaneswar, began their probe into the unfortunate incident on Wednesday.

The committee comprises the Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department, Principal Secretary, Women and Child Development and Commissioner-cum-Secretary of the Higher Education Department. The committee paid a visit to the university and held discussions with various stakeholders on the matter.

Speaking to media persons at the university, Home Department Additional Chief Secretary Satyabrata Sahu said, “As per the instructions of the state government, we have come here and held discussions with various stakeholders. We are here to visit the places where the incidents have taken place. We will also hold discussions with the affected students. We will submit the report to the government in time.”

The police commissioner of Bhubaneswar-Cuttack twin city who was also present during the visit of the high-level committee told media persons that police have sought the permission of the court to take Advik Srivastava, the accused boyfriend of Nepali student, Prakriti Lamsal, on remand for further investigation into the case.

“We have requested for remand and we will be getting three-day remand for the accused person. He will be interrogated in detail on the issue. We will strengthen the evidence with us through the information elicited during interrogation. We will try to corroborate the allegations of harassment through information fetched during interrogation. Justice will certainly be delivered in the case,” said Police Commissioner Dev Datta Singh.

He further said that the laptop and mobile of the student who died had also been seized and sent to the forensic science laboratory for examination.

Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi spoke with Nepali Counsellors Sanjeeb Das Sharma and Navin Raj Adhikari over the phone regarding the issue. He assured them that justice would be delivered in the case of the KIIT student, Prakriti. He also assured that peace and normalcy would be restored on the KIIT campus.

The Chief Minister has also urged Nepali students to return to the campus and resume their studies. The Nepali delegation also held talks with Ministers Mukesh Mahaling and Suryabanshi Suraj, and Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja at the State Guest House here on Wednesday to ensure the restoration of normalcy at KIIT.

The Foreign Minister of Nepal Dr Arzu Rana Deuba spoke to the Higher Education Department Minister Suryabanshi Suraj over the phone regarding the matter. The Higher Education minister later said that the female student who died is not only Nepal’s daughter but also the daughter of Odisha.

On the other hand, students of the private university and various student organisations continued their protest demanding justice for Prakriti who ended her life in her hostel room at the KIIT University, Bhubaneswar on Sunday due to continued harassment by her estranged boyfriend.

Police arrested the accused boyfriend on Monday based on a complaint lodged by the Prakriti’s cousin, Siddhant Sigdel.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)