UGC seeks ‘action taken’ report from KIIT over Nepalese student’s suicide
On February 21, KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta appeared before the Odisha government’s high-level committee, which is probing the incident.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has sought a report from Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) in Bhubaneswar over the mistreatment of Nepalese students on its campus. The body took the step following the recent suicide by a Nepalese student in her hostel room, a UGC official said on Tuesday.
In the report, India’s apex higher education regulator has asked the KIIT administration to share the details of the action being taken to address the students’ concerns that arose after the recent incidents, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
On February 16, Prakriti Lamsal, a third-year BTech student, was found dead in her hostel room, following which Nepalese students staged protests claiming that she was harassed by a fellow student and the college didn’t act despite multiple complaints. On February 17, the Odisha police arrested the accused student, Advik Srivastava.
The incident spiraled into a major crisis after 800-odd Nepalese students were forcefully evicted from the KIIT campus and allegedly assaulted by university authorities, with two women officials allegedly hurling racial abuses at the foreign students.
On February 18, the KIIT issued an official apology over its staff’s misbehaviour with foreign students and suspended three employees and removed two security personnel. The institute has also announced to launch a scholarship in the memory of the deceased student.
On February 21, KIIT founder Achyuta Samanta appeared before the Odisha government’s high-level committee, which is probing the incident.
UGC’s action has come amid a diplomatic row over the incident as the Nepal National Human Rights Commission on Monday wrote to India’s NHRC seeking a thorough investigation into the suicide incident and speedy justice for the Nepalese students.
India’s ministry of external affairs reiterated that India accords high priority to the safety, security and well-being of all international students in the country.
The Odisha government has asked KIIT authorities to initiate action against the employees involved in the mistreatment of students, a day after Nepal’s foreign minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba spoke to chief minister Mohan Charan Majhi over the phone regarding the incidents.
