Bhubaneswar: Police on Monday arrested three more employees of Bhubaneswar-based Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), which is in the midst of a controversy following the alleged death by suicide of a 20-year-old engineering student from Nepal, Prakriti Lamsal, on February 16.
According to reports, KIIT University Director General Shibananda Mishra, Director (Administration) Pratap Kumar Champati, Hostel Director Sudhir Kumar Rath have been taken into custody.
Earlier, two security guards, identified as Ramakanta Nayak (45) and Jogendra Behera (25), were arrested and a criminal case against them under Sections 126 (2) [wrongful restraint], 296 [obscene acts], 115 (2) [voluntarily causing hurt], and 3 (5) [joint criminal liability] of the BNS.
A third-year BTech (Mechanical) student of the college was also arrested under Section 108 of the BNS (abetment of suicide) on the basis of a complaint lodged by the cousin of the deceased at Infocity police station here.
The father of the deceased, Sunil Lamsal, had told ANI that he believes his daughter was “harassed and emotionally blackmailed”, ultimately leading to her tragic demise. He also confirmed that both the police and the university administration have been cooperative with the family.
Meanwhile, the Odisha government has placed KIIT under notice, and formed a high-level fact finding committee to looking into the fiasco.
Also Read: KIIT Issues Apology, Suspends 3 Employees For ‘Misconduct’ During Protest
Notably, Prakriti’s death triggered massive protests on the campus on February 16 evening, leading to a controversy after the institution allegedly cracked down on the agitating students and evicted them from the hostel without making any travel arrangements, prompting the Nepal’s Prime Minister to intervene.
On Tuesday, KIIT issued a apology, regretting the alleged misconduct of its employees during the protest. The institute also suspended two hostel officials and a senior administrative officer of International Relations Office (IRO) and ordered an inquiry against them.
Two women employees – Manjusha Pandey and Jayanti Nath – also tendered an apology for their ‘hurtful’ remarks after a video of the same went viral on social media.
Also, two security staff were removed from service for allegedly thrashing some of the Nepali students.
