Nepalese students fear returning to KIIT campus after row over student's death

Bhubaneswar: Nepalese students on Wednesday expressed fear about returning to the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) campus here after events that took place following the alleged suicide of a 20-year-old student from the Himalayan nation.

Around 1,000 Nepalese students studying at KIIT were issued suspension notices and asked to leave the campus immediately on Monday following protests after the body of a student, Prakriti Lamsal, was found hanging from the ceiling of her hostel room on Sunday.

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

But the harrowing experiences encountered by the Nepalese students, including being shunted out of the campus and left at Cuttack railway station and alleged incidents of being roughed up, have left them scarred and many are fearful to return, the students said.

"We were forced to vacate the hostel without any fault of ours. The students from Nepal were agitated over the death of Prakriti as her previous pleadings with the authorities (over alleged blackmail by her former boyfriend) were ignored. She died by suicide out of frustration," Preeti, a student from Nepal, told reporters.

Narrating the harrowing experience encountered on Monday, Preeti said, "We were forcibly taken on a bus and dropped at a place near the railway station where there was no shop or water. What was our fault? Now they (dean and other officials of KIIT) are affectionately asking us to return. Can anyone believe them?" Five KIIT employees, including directors of the institute, were arrested on Tuesday for harassing the Nepalese students but the Judicial Magistrate First Class-2 court later in the evening granted them bail.

A 21-year-old KIIT student was earlier arrested on charges of abetting the woman's suicide.

Sources said the body of the deceased will be flown to Nepal during the day. Her father Sunil Lamsal and other family members have been camping in the city for the last two days.

Odisha's Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj had earlier said that 100 Nepalese students are currently on the campus and nearly 800 are in other places.

"They might have gone to Kolkata, Patna or Ranchi. It is the responsibility of the KIIT authorities to bring them back. They are our guests," the minister said.

Sources said that most of the Nepalese students have returned to their homes in the Himalayan nation. However, neither the state government nor the KIIT authorities shared information about the number of students who have returned to the campus so far.

The Odisha government had on Tuesday released the action taken report in connection with the alleged crackdown on students following the unnatural death of the student.

It has formed a high-level committee headed by the additional chief secretary, home, to probe into the circumstances of the alleged suicide and the shunting of Nepalese students out of the campus by the varsity authorities.

Meanwhile, several students, youths and political organisations continued their agitation outside the campus over the incident.

Taking to X, KIIT stated, "Deeply mourning the untimely passing of our beloved student, Prakriti Lamsal. Today, all senior functionaries of KIIT gathered to express our heartfelt condolences and stand in solidarity with her family, friends, and the student community. We are committed to ensuring justice and support for all. May her soul rest in peace."