Suicide by a Girl Student: All Protesting Students from Nepal Forcibly Sent Back Home
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 17: More than 500 Nepali students were forced to leave the campus of a private technology university in Bhubaneswar after tensions flared up following the alleged suicide of a girl student from Nepal on Monday.
Protests rocked the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University (deemed) in Bhubaneswar on Monday after a 20-year-old mechanical engineering girl student of Nepal was found hanging from the ceiling fan of her hostel room on Sunday evening.
Hundreds of students of KIIT University blocked the main thoroughfares in front of the college on Monday morning alleging that the authorities turned a deaf ear to the complaints lodged by the deceased student a month ago.
Police officials said prima facie it appeared to be a case of suicide. Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of the Police Pinak Mishra said the accused boy Advik Srivastava who allegedly played a role in the abetment of suicide has been detained.
The students alleged that the victim was being harassed by Advik Srivastava for several months and despite reporting the matter to the international relations department of the university, no help came.
The deceased third-year B-Tech student was identified as Prakriti Lamsal from Nepal. The deceased’s cousin complained to Infocity police station in Bhubaneswar alleging that his sister hanged herself in her hostel room on Sunday. He suspected that another male student of the varsity was blackmailing his sister for which she committed suicide.
Following the incident, Nepali students of the university demanded a thorough investigation and sought the arrest of the accused. As tensions grew, KIIT University issued a notice asking all Nepali students to vacate the campus. The statement read, “The University is closed for all international students from Nepal. They are hereby directed to vacate the university campus today, February 17.
Addressing media persons, KIIT University Registrar Gyana Ranjan Mohanty said the victim was in a relationship with the accused. “She was staying in the hostel and took an extreme step due to a strained equation with her partner. Her room has been sealed and family members informed. Police have arrested the accused,” said Mohanty.
The KIIT left behind busloads of Nepali students at the Cuttack railway station, 30 km from the institute. Many students, including girls, were left stranded at the railway station, with several lacking train tickets to return home. A notice issued by KIIT says, “The University is closed sine die for all the international students from Nepal. They are hereby directed to vacate the university campus immediately today on February 17, 2025.”
“We had received a police complaint about the reported suicide of a Nepali girl student on February 16. We rushed to the hostel room and tried to pacify students who were agitated over the incident,” DCP Mishra said. He said, “Police seized the mobile phone and laptop of the girl. Evidence was collected by following procedures properly, which was one of the major demands of students. The girl’s body was preserved in mortuary.”
A clarification issued by Shradhanjali Nayak, Director, Public Relations of KIIT, says, “Police had taken a male student — believed to have been in a relationship with the deceased — into custody for questioning. It is believed that the girl student may have taken this step following a personal dispute or issue between them.” “The incident led to concerns among students from Nepal, prompting discussions with the university administration. Following talks, the students returned to their respective homes and the situation on campus remains normal,” she said.
Students were distressed as they lacked necessary tickets to return home. Some criticised the University for its alleged high-handed behaviour in suspending Nepali students, who, along with their peers, were set to appear for examinations starting in the last week of February.
The Nepali students alleged that they were forced to head for their homes without any travel arrangement. “No train tickets or any directions have been provided to us. We were just loaded up on the hostel buses, sent to Cuttack railway station and ordered to leave for our homes at the earliest. The staff members entered the hostel, made us vacate and even hit those who were not vacating quickly,” claimed a student from Nepal.
The KIIT authorities claimed that initially it had asked all Nepali students to return to the campus and resume classes. “There was an unfortunate incident which took place late in the evening yesterday on the KIIT campus. Immediately after the incident, police investigated the matter and apprehended the culprit. The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy in the campus and hostels to resume the academic activities. An appeal is made to all our Nepali students who have or plan to leave the campus to return and resume the classes,” the institute posted on X.
Two platoons of police force were deployed to maintain law and order situation on the campus. Additional Commissioner of Police (ACP) Prakash Chandra Pal said the police were maintaining law and order both inside and outside the campus. “The police have sealed the deceased girl’s room and kept the body at the mortuary till the arrival of her parents,” a varsity official said.
In the meantime, students from other states claimed that private security guards at the university prevented them from leaving the hostel.
