Students during a protest over the death of a Nepali student at the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in Bhubaneswar on February 18.
Credit: PTI Photo
The death of a Nepali student at Odisha's Kalinga Institute of Technology (KIIT) and videos of some officials of the institution using discriminatory language against students from the neighbouring country has grabbed the nation's attention. Nepal also reacted strongly with the country's Prime Minister reportedly warning of stopping issuing no-objection certificates (NoC) given to students intending to study at institutions in Odisha.
Here we take a look at how the controversy has erupted so far:
Body of Nepali student found, tensions in KIIT campus
A third-year B-Tech student of a private engineering institute here died allegedly by suicide in her hostel leading to tension in the campus, police said.
The deceased was identified as Prakriti Lamsal from Nepal. She was a B-Tech third-year student of KIIT, varsity Registrar said.
The deceased's cousin lodged a complaint at Infocity police station in Bhubaneswar alleging that his sister hanged herself in her hostel room on February 16. He suspected that another male student of the varsity was blackmailing his sister because of which she committed suicide.
Many students from Nepal assembled on the KIIT campus on the same night and staged demonstration demanding justice.
Nepali students dropped off at railway station
Since there was mild tension among the Nepali students studying at KIIT over the girl's death, the university authorities had a discussion with the agitating foreign students. "Keeping in view the situation, the Nepal students have been sent to their respective homes. The situation presently remained calm," the KIIT said.
Two busloads of Nepali students were dropped at the Cuttack Railway Station the very next day. "We were told to vacate hostel room and dropped at the railway station. We had to appear for examination on February 28..." a male student told reporters at the Cuttack railway station.
Meanwhile, students from other states alleged that they were not allowed to go outside the hostel by private security guards of the varsity.
Some students claimed, "We had no food, water, or money to purchase train tickets."
A video of a scuffle between students and private security guards of the varsity went viral on social media, though the authenticity of the video could not be not verified.
The KIIT authorities refused to comment on the allegations made by the students that they were not allowed to go outside the hostel.
Nepal sends officials from Embassy to KIIT
Nepal PM K P Sharma Oli said that the country's embassy in New Delhi sent two officials to counsel Nepalese students at the university.
"Keeping in view the situation, the Nepal students have been sent to their respective homes. The situation presently remained calm," the KIIT said.
Later, in a separate statement, the Nepalese Embassy in Delhi said the KIIT assured it would arrange for the accommodation of the Nepalese students in the university hostel and hold classes for them.
The embassy said it was in contact with the Indian government and the Odisha chief minister's office and co-ordinating with authorities on the incident.
A group of Nepalese students staged a demonstration in front of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu with placards demanding a probe into the incident.
KIIT backtracks as issue blows up
As tension mounted at KIIT, the university authorities held discussions with the agitating students. "In view of the situation, Nepali students have been sent to their respective homes. The situation remains calm at present," the institute said in a statement.
Regarding the eviction of Nepali students from the hostel, KIIT clarified, "The administration made extensive efforts, engaging in counseling and discussions for over 10 hours to manage the situation peacefully. However, despite their best attempts, some protestors were unwilling to listen to the university authorities and continued to create disruptions, posing a challenge to law and order. They also blocked the main road for hours, causing inconvenience and escalating tensions."
The university further added, "To ensure a smooth and unbiased investigation, Nepali students have been advised to return to their respective places with the help of local guardians until the inquiry is completed. Their academic aspects will not be disturbed during this period and will be taken care of by the university."
KIIT staff apologise for insensitive comments
Two female members of KIIT's staff/faculty, who were filmed using discriminatory language against Nepali students, issued video apologies where they said such comments were made in 'the spur of the moment' and in personal capacity, and did not reflect the values of the institution.
What did the Odisha government say?
Expressing grief over the death of the student, the state government termed it is an "unfortunate incident" and should not impact Odisha's age-old relationship with the Himalayan kingdom.
Noting that the state's relationship with Nepal is linked to Lord Jagannath culture, higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said the home department has taken swift action and arrested the accused person who allegedly forced the girl to commit suicide.
He said though the incident took place at a private institute, chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi has entrusted him to look into the matter. "We're in touch with the private University and also the ministry of external affairs," the minister said.
"The government has directed the university to bring back the Nepali students to Bhubaneswar by special bus," he said.
The minister said that around 1,000 students from Nepal study in KIIT.
Issue reaches Odisha Assembly
Legislators cutting across party lines on Tuesday expressed grief in the Odisha assembly over the death of a Nepali student on the KIIT campus and condemned the alleged mistreatment of several other students from the neighbouring country by the private institute's authorities.
The issue was raised during the Zero Hour by BJD member P K Deb who said the girl’s suicide and subsequent development brought shame to the state.
He alleged that the incident was an outcome of the "worsening law and order situation" under the BJP rule in the state.
Senior Congress member Taraprasad Bahinipati demanded a judicial probe into the incident in which the Nepali girl was suspected to have died by suicide and several other students from the Himalayan country were allegedly assaulted by KIIT staff.
The Congress MLAs also threatened that he would stage a dharna in the assembly if the chief minister did not order a judicial inquiry into the incident.
BJP MLA Babu Singh also demanded the arrest of Achyuta Samanta, the founder of KIIT.
Nepal government gets involved, issues stern warning
he Nepal government on Tuesday said that it may stop issuing no objection certificates to students who wish to study in institutes in Odisha if the situation arising from the death of a student at a Bhubaneswar university is not resolved in a “justifiable and legal way”.
The ministry also appealed to the concerned people, including the guardians and students of the university, for observing patience and said the ministry has formed a help desk to facilitate effective resolution of the problems arising from the incident.
With PTI inputs