UGC sets up a panel to probe KIIT suicides
The development comes in the wake of the death of a Nepalese student in her hostel room on Thursday, marking the second such incident in a span of three months.
NEW DELHI The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Friday constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate two consecutive student suicides at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) University in Bhubaneswar, officials aware of the development said.
The development comes in the wake of the death of a Nepalese student in her hostel room on Thursday, marking the second such incident in a span of three months.
The higher education regulator said the panel will examine institutional policies, student welfare compliance, and mental health support systems and submit its report within 10 days. The panel will also recommend steps to “strengthen student safety mechanisms and institutional accountability,” the officials said.
Chaired by Nageshwar Rao, former vice chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the committee includes Shashikala Wanjari (VC, NIEPA), HCS Rathore (former VC, Central University of South Bihar), and Sunita Siwach (UGC joint secretary) as coordinating officer.
Odisha police said that they are exploring all angles of the incident before arriving at a conclusion.
“Though preliminary investigation suggests there might have been a love affair angle to the incident, we are yet to arrive at any conclusion. The student’s parents along with her brother arrived in Bhubaneswar to take her body. We are yet to interrogate them. We have registered a case of unnatural death,” said the police officer.
Meanwhile, Nepal’s foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba said his government has initiated diplomatic steps for a proper investigation into the student’s death.
“The incident of a Nepali student studying at Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University in Odisha being found dead in her hostel room has left us deeply saddened. Discussions are ongoing with the Government of India and the Government of Odisha,” Deuba wrote on X.
In a separate statement, Nepal’s ambassador to India, Shankar Sharma, said that the embassy is closely coordinating with the external affairs ministry, Odisha government, the police and the university for a “thorough investigation”.
