KIIT student death: Founder Samanta, other functionaries appear before Odisha govt panel

Bhubaneswar: Senior officials of Odisha-based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), including its founder Achyuta Samanta, on Friday appeared before the state government’s high-level committee investigating the alleged suicide of a Nepalese engineering student and subsequent attack on students from the neighbouring country.

Former BJD MP Samanta arrived at the state guest house ahead of his scheduled 6:30 PM hearing.

A day earlier, he had apologised to the parents of Nepalese students over the incident.

Earlier in the day, Congress MLAs in the Assembly demanded his arrest, blaming him for the KIIT fiasco.

The three-member inquiry committee, led by additional chief secretary (Home) Satyabrata Sahu, is tasked with examining the circumstances leading to the student’s suicide on February 16, the alleged high-handedness of the institute’s administration, and the decision to suspend specific students and shut down the institute for them.

The panel, which includes the secretaries of higher education and women & child development departments, had earlier visited the KIIT campus and spoken to Nepalese students who claimed mistreatment by institute staff for staging protests.

Meanwhile, two suspended senior KIIT officials, Jayanti Nath and Manjusha Pande, appeared before the committee at 4 PM.

They were accused of making derogatory remarks about Nepal, claiming that KIIT provided free food to Nepalese students and that the institute’s budget exceeded that of the Himalayan nation. A purported video of their statements went viral, leading to their summons, an official said.