A third-year BTech student of Nepal, Prakriti Lamsal, was discovered dead in the hostel room of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Bhubaneswar sparking widespread controversy. The 20-year-old student, who was pursuing a degree in Computer Science, allegedly committed suicide by hanging herself from the ceiling fan on Sunday afternoon. Sources report that the suicide was allegedly related to romantic problems involving her boyfriend. Later, due to black mails given of Prakriti, her cousin lodged a police complaint against a male student, which made her commit the extreme measure.
Following the incident, tensions escalated on the KIIT campus. When they heard the news of the tragedy Boy Nepalese students went on a protest and roadblocking near the university. The situation then escalated when Nepalese students were given an order at the beginning of the day on Monday to leave the university grounds and this created a sense of panic and anxiety among the community. A section of Nepalese students expressed their frustration, claiming they faced difficulties in securing train tickets to return home. Others have complained that the unfortunate action of Prakriti was due to the authorities’ neglect in responding to her complaint in due time.
However, at evening, the administration of KIIT asked the Nepalese students to leave the campus. Reports of unrest and forcible eviction led the Chair of the Nepal’s parliament K. P. Sharma Oli to intervene. He went on social media writing, “Our Embassy in New Delhi has arranged two officials to extend the support to Nepali student victims in Odisha. Also, it has been ensured that they have the choice to stay at the hostel or to go back home, according to their choice.
After the rise of tension, KIIT issued a press statement that admitted the unfortunate incident, and declared that prompt action was taken by the police, such as arresting the offender. The administration of KIIT has made maximum efforts to bring everything back to normal in the campus and in the hostel so that normal academic activities can resume. ‘We appeal to all of our Nepali students, who are already at the campus, or who have a plan to leave the campus, to come back to the campus and continue their classes’, the statement said.
Denying charges of harassment and forceful eviction, Dr. Shradhanjali Nayak, director of KIIT, explained the stance of the institute. “After we came to know about the students’ difficulties, we asked them to return. There has been no forceful eviction. We have 500 Nepalese students. With the stress level upon them, most people opt to stay at home. But we still have more than 150 students on our campus. We’re urging everyone to come home,” she told The Telegraph.
“I’m a Nepali student at KIIT University, Bhubaneswar, Odisha. All the more, after the press release the hostel management is still warning us over not going to my hostel. They are also using abusive language. I’m still sitting at Bhubaneswar railway station from this morning.
At the same time, the Indian embassy in Kathmandu mourned the event very sadly. In a press release, the embassy said, “We are saddened by the unfortunate passing of a Nepali student at KIIT. The embassy has been also in contact with the authorities of KIIT and with the Odisha government. ‘The local administration has started an inquiry in this unfortunate incident’, the statement further reported that KIIT had called the students to come back on the campus’.
Bhubaneswar DCP Pinak Mishra confirmed that the accused which is suspected to have abetted the suicide is held. Students claimed to have been victim of harassment inflicted by a male friend on the victim for a number of months. Reports suggest that despite bringing the matter to the attention of KIIT’s international relations department, no concrete action was taken to address her grievances. A sound recording of the defendant has been unveiled, and there is a claim that it can be heard shouting and extorting the victim.
The incident, however, has not only raised the concern for students’ safety around KIIT but has also initiated discussion for the duty and liability of educational institutions in related concerns such as harassment complaints. In this unfolding inquiry, both students and their respective authorities are looking for further elucidation on the circumstances surrounding Prakriti Lamsal’s unfortunate demise.
