Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Tuesday informed that a high-level fact finding committee has been formed to look into the February 16 unrest at KIIT in Bhubaneswar following the alleged death by suicide of a 20year-old engineering student from Nepal.
“The institution has been placed under notice, and appropriate legal and administrative action shall follow based on the findings of the high-level fact finding committee constituted by the government. The committee consists of Additional Chief Secretary, Home Department, Principal Secretary, Women & Child Development Department and Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Higher Education Department, as Members,” the official notification said.
It also mentioned that the government took a strong note of the incident, leading to arrest of security guards and suspension of the erring officials involved. “Reports of misconduct including the use of force against students by private individuals are being investigated, and those responsible, shall be held accountable as per the law,” it further said, while assuring that all necessary steps are being taken to ensure that justice is served swiftly and fairly.
Also Read: KIIT Issues Apology, Suspends 3 Employees For ‘Misconduct’ During Protest
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader Tara Prasad Bahinipati had demanded a judicial probe into the incident. “It hurts when we find that the students from Nepal were harassed in Odisha. Our state has a long-standing relationship with Nepal. This incident has strained Odisha’s relationship with Nepal,” he added, while mentioning that Lord Jagannath’s Kasturi (musk) comes from the neighbouring country.
The Congress MLAs also threatened a dharna in the assembly over the demand.
Several other BJP MLAs also came down heavily on the institute over the Nepali student’s death.
THE CASE
Prakriti Lamsal (20), a 3rd-year BTech (Computer Science) student of the college, was found dead in her hostel room on February 16 evening. The incident triggered massive protests on campus, 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.
The notice read: “The college was closed sine die for all international students from Nepal.”
Nepal’s Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, remarked on Monday that his government had taken note of the incident and is addressing it with India through diplomatic channels. He added that the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi has sent two officers to counsel affected students in the state.
Later the same day, the university urged students to return and resume their academic activities. “There was an unfortunate incident which took place late in the evening yesterday on the KIIT campus. Immediately after the incident, the police investigated the matter and apprehended the culprit. The KIIT administration has taken all-out efforts to restore normalcy on the campus and in the hostels to resume academic activities,” the statement said.
On Tuesday, KIIT issued a apology, regretting the alleged misbehaviour of its employees during protests. The institute has suspended two hostel officials and a senior administrative officer of International Relations Office (IRO) and ordered an inquiry against them. Services of two security guards have also been terminated.
Meanwhile, father of the deceased student, Sunil Lamsal, alleged his daughter was “harassed and emotionally blackmailed”, ultimately leading to her tragic demise.
A third-year BTech (Mechanical) student from Lucknow has been 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, alleging that his sister was blackmailed by a fellow student, which he believes led to her suicide.
Police have also arrested the two security guards, identified as Ramakanta Nayak (45) and Jogendra Behera (25), and registered 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.
