Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology evicts all students hailing from Nepal
Bhubaneswar, Feb 17: A third-year B-Tech Nepali student at a private engineering institute here allegedly died by suicide in her hostel, leading to campus tension following which a group of students from the Himalayan kingdom were evicted on Monday.
The deceased, identified as Prakriti Lamsal, was studying at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), the varsity’s registrar said.
As the situation escalated on campus, KIIT authorities allegedly evicted several Nepali students from the hostel and dropped them at Cuttack railway station without making any arrangements for their travel, sources said.
Some students claimed, “We had no food, water, or money to purchase train tickets.”
However, the intervention of Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli offered some relief to the students.
Oli posted on Facebook in Nepali, “It has come to our attention through media and social media that a Nepali student has died in a hostel of KIIT University in Odisha and that Nepali students have been forcibly evicted. The government is working on this matter through diplomatic channels and is in contact with the relevant authorities.”
Following his intervention, KIIT authorities appealed to Nepali students to return to campus.
In a post on X, Oli said, “Our Embassy in New Delhi has dispatched two officers to counsel Nepali students affected in Odisha. Additionally, arrangements have been made to ensure they have the option to either remain in their hostel or return home, based on their preference.”
The incident gained further attention when the deceased’s cousin filed a complaint at Infocity police station in Bhubaneswar, alleging that his sister hanged herself in her hostel room on Sunday. He claimed that a boy student at the university had been blackmailing his sister, which he believed led to her suicide.
KIIT authorities confirmed that the third-year B-Tech student had died by suicide in her hostel room on Sunday.
“It is suspected that the girl was having an affair with another student at KIIT, and she may have committed suicide for some reason,” the university said. (PTI)